
Class 
Book. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



THE STATE DEPARTMENTS 



MEMBERS AND OFFICERS 



OF THE 



Legislature of Pennsylvania, 

1895-94. 




6^^H^, 




Jf^- ^o-c<^ 



PORTTRAinrS 



OF THK 



HEADS OF STATE DEPARTMENTS 



PORTRAITS AND SKETCHES 



Members of the Legislature 



OF PENNSYLVANIA, 



189: -94. 



COMPILED BY 

WM. RODEARMEL. 



m 20 189'^ 



HARRISBURG : 

E. K. MEYERS PRINTING HOUSE. 
1893. 



-f— 



r, 



I /, 



4-S 



Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1893, 

By WM. RODEARMEL, Harrisburg, T'a., 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



NTRODUCTORY. 



THIS publication contains a portrait and sketch of every mem- 
ber of the Senate and House of Representatives, and por- 
traits of the Heads of Departments, with other illustrations 
running the number above three hundred. The author takes this 
method of thanking the legislative newspaper correspondents for 
the aid they have extended him in the preparation of the sketches, 
and to Mr. Lerue Lemer, of Harrisburg, Pa., the well-known pho- 
tographer, for his invaluable assistance in expediting the completion 
of the work by promptly furnishing the photographs from which 
nearly all the plates in it were made. The fine portraits which adorn 
the pages of the book are due largely to the well-executed photo- 
graphs from the establishment of Mr. Lemer, who, for nearly a 
quarter of a century, has made a specialty of making photographic 
groups of members of the Legislature. Thanks are also due, and 
warmly extended, to the State officials and members of the Senate 
and House, who, by their prompt encouragement of the enterprise, 
have made its success possible. Its originator feels like thanking 
himself that the arduous work he has been required to do is at an 
end. 

W. R. 



THE STATE DEPARTMENTS 

OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



The State Departments 




KOBT. E. PATTISON. of Philadelphia, 
Governor of Pennsylvania. 



Tlie State Departments. 




WM. F. HAKKITY, of Philadclphui, 
Secretary of the Commomrcdltli. 



The State Departments. 




W. U. HENSEL, of Lancaster, 

Attorney General. 



The State /Mpartinenis. 



XV 









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- ... - 



D. McM. GREGG, of Eerk.s, 

Audifor (leneml. 



TJie State Departmejits. 



xvii 




JOHN W. MOKKISON, of Allegheny, 
State Treasurer. 



Tlie State Departments. 




THOMAS J. STEWART, of Montgomery, 

Hccnianj of Internal Affairs. 



T}ie State Departments. 



XXI 



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NATHAN C. SCHAEFFER, of Berks. 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 



The State Departments. 



xxin 




W. W. GREENLAND, of Clarion, 
Adjutant General. 



The State Departments. 



XXV 




GEORGE B. LUPER, of Crawford, 
Insurance Commissioner. 



Tlie State Departments. 



xxvn 




CHARLES H. KKUMBHAAK, of Philadelphia, 
SKjjcrhiieinlent of Bankiin/. 



Jlie State Departments. 



XXIX 




WILLIAM H. EGLE, M. D., of Dauphin, 
State Librarian. 



2 he State Departments. 



XXXI 




WM. HAYES GRIEK, of Lancaster, 
Superititcndcnt of Pitblic Printinfj mid Bindiii;/. 



TJie State Departmeuts. 




KOBERT WATCHORN, of Washingtou, 
Factory Inspector, 



Ihe State Depart inents. 



XXXV 





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fe, " '^ /% 


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i^L 


4 


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V 



A. B. FARQUHAR, of York, 
Executive Commissioner of Board of Woild's: Fair ^lanngers. 



The State DejMrtiiieuts. 



Kxxvn 




COL, C. T. O'NEILL, of Lehigh, 
Superintendent of State Arsenal. 



The State Depart ii}ents. 



XXXIX 




HUMPHREY D. TATE, of Bedford, 

I'ririitc Sccveldnj 1o Gorenior. 



The State Departments. 



xli 




A. L. TILDEN, of Erie, 
Dcpufij Secretary of the Commonwealth. 



The State. Departments. 



xliii 




JAMES A. STKAXAHAN, of Mercer, 
Deputy Attorney Gencml. 



Thf Stafi: Drparlnients. 



xlv 




FREDERICK SHOBER, of Philadelphia, 
Chief Clerk Audilor GoicniPs I)f]H(rtiiient. 



The State Departments. 



xlvu 




G. MORRISON TAYLOR, of rhiladelphia, 
Cashier State Treasury. 



7'Ae State Departments. 



xlix 




ISAAC B. BKOWN, of Erie, 
Deputy Secretary of Internal Affain 



Tlie State Departments. 




HENRY HOUCK, of Lebanon, 
Jjrjtntij Siijxrintendeiii of Fublic Inntiuction. 



The State IJf^pariinents. 



liii 




GEORGE C. KELLY, of Union, 

Chief Clerk Adju/unt (ienernVs. Depnrlmenf. 



The State Departments. 



\v 




J. WOODS BKOWN, of Northumberland, 
Deputy Insurance Coniviissioner. 



Tlifi State Departments. 



Ivii 




EDWIN K. MEYEKS, ot Dauphin, 
State Piinicr, 



LEGISLATIVE 
NEWSPAPER CORRESPONDENTS. 



Ix 



Correspondents. 




W. K. Buckingham, 
The Press. Philadelpliia. 




PETER J. HOBAN, 

The PaWic Ledger. Philadelphia. 





Henry Hali^, 

The Times. Pittsburg. 



\j. I). Bancroft, 

The Du^ipatch, Pittsburg. 




A. R. CRUM, 

The Comttiercial-Gazette, 
Pittsburg. 



-stfRr 







W. A. CONNOR, 

United Press. 
The Xiirth American, Philadelphia. 



Peter Bolger, 
The Record, Philadelphia. 



Correspondents. 



Ixi 




WM. RODEAKMEL, 

The Times, PliUadelphia. 



-*fB,i 



^life/* 



GEO. M. WANliAUGH, 

The Piitridt. Harrisburg. 
7 he Chronicle- Tdeurapli, Pittsburg 




■ m^ 



m 





Thos. M. Jones, 

The Teleriniph. Hnrrisbitrri. 
The I'eh'ijruph, PliUadelphia. 



SAM UUDSON, 

The hulletin, Philadelphia. 
The Leader, Pittsburg. 



W. R. Stenger, 
2' he Patriot, Har9'isburg. 





E. J. Stackpoi.e. 
The Integra ph. J/arrisbitrg. 
The Inquirer, Philadelphia. 



.loiiN I*. DOIIONEY, 

'Jlie yVcss, I'iltxbiirg. 



THE SENATE 



OF 



PENNSYLVANIA, 



The Senate. 



V 




GUIS ARTHUR WATRES, Presi- 
„ ^^\j^,^ J-* dent of the Senate, was born at 

^flHHHHk^^^ Mount Vernon, Lackawanna county, 

«PPII^^^^BL Pa., April 21, 1851. His father was 

W flBB I.ouis S. Watres, one of the earlj' set- 

1 ^^H^ i\e\s of the Lackawanna Valley, and a 

1(81^.^1^- ^Hf descendant of the renowned James Otis, 

of Massachusetts. His mother was a 
uifted poetess, and under the nom dc 
plume of " Stella, of Lackawanna," 
wrote numerous popular poems, many 
of which have been gathered since her 
decease and put in book form. Mr. 
Watres was obliged at an early age to 
leave school and seek employment. 
Afier having been engaged in sundry 
callings he became a bank clerk, then 
teller and afterwards cashier of the 
Scranton Savings Bank and Trust Com- 
pany. He studied law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1878, since which 
time he has been in the active practice of his profession. In 1877, after the reorgani- 
zation of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, Mr. Watres was elected Lieutenant 
of company C, Thirteenth regiment. In July, 1880. he was elected Captain of 
company A, Thirteenth regiment, Third brigade, which position he held until 
January, 1887, when he was appointed by Governor James A. Beaver as Gen- 
eral Inspector of Rifle Practice of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, with 
rank as colonel. He has always been a Republican. In 1882 he was elected to 
the Senate of Pennsylvania from a strongly Democratic district and was re-elected 
in 1886. In 1890 he was elected Lieutenant Governor by a majority of 22,365, 
while the Democratic Governor was elected by 17,000 majority. In addition to 
being Lieutenant Governor and President of the Senate of Pennsylvania, he is 
President of the Board of Pardons. In 1891 he was selected chairman of the Re- 
publican State Committee, and led his party to a victory of unusual magnitude. 
By act of General Assembly he was made Commissioner from Pennsylvania to the 
World's Columbian Exposition and subsequently elected Vice-President of the 
Board. Mr. Watres is regular in attendance on the sessions of the Senate, presides 
over its deliberations with dignity and ability, and possesses the high esteem of 
ail its members. In religion Mr. Watres entertains strong but liberal views and 
is a member of the Presbyterian church. In 1874 he married Effie Hawley, and 
has three .sons Harold, Laiirence and Reyburn. 



-9- "IIMIIIK- 






TJie Senate. 




GEORGE HANDY SMITH, the vete- 
ran Senator who has represented the 
First district of the city of Philadel- 
phia since 1876, being the senior mem- 
ber in point of service, is a native of the 
the Quaker City, having been born in 
the Eighth ward on July 21, 1836. His 
ancestors were Scotch, and emigrated to 
America in 1632, settling in Maryland, 
where they were instrumental in estab- 
lishing, at Snow Hill, Worcester county, 
the first Presbyterian church erected on 
this continent. Senator Smith was edu- 
cated in the schools of his native city, 
graduating in the senior class of the 
Locust Street grammar school. He 
learned the arts and mysteries of jew- 
eler and silversmith, and successfully 
followed that occupation until the peo- 
ple called him into their service in 
other departments of life. He early 
became identified with the Eepublican party and has always been one of its 
sturdiest adherents and most efiicient workers. After having creditably filled 
several positions under the municipal government of Philadelphia, he was, in 1871, 
elected to the House of Representatives from the First district, and re-elected in 
1872 and 1873. He has served in the Senate since 1875. Here his knowledge ot 
parliamentary procedure and careful consideration of pending legislation soon 
won him a prominence he has always retained. In 1885 he was honored with an 
election to the Presidency pro tempore of the Senate, and re-elected in 1887. He 
was chairman of the Republican joint caucus that nominated J. Donald Cameron for 
United States Senator in 1879 and 1891, and had the same honor in 1893, when 
M. S. Quay was nominated for a second term. Mr. Smith also placed Mr. Quay 
in nomination in the Senate. As chairman of the inauguration committee, he pre- 
sided at both inaugurations of Governor Hartranft and at that of Governor Hoyt, 
and was a member of that committee on both occasions when Governor Pattison 
was inducted into office. In the Senate he is chairman of the Committee on Ap- 
propriations. Keeping a close watch on all legislation, he takes an active part in 
all important measures, and while never occupying the time of the Senate with 
useless discussions, exercises himself when occasion demands with clearness and 
force, and always with effect. In 1862 Mr. Smith enlisted in the Ninth Penn- 
sylvania regiment, returning from the service as corporal. He is a member of 
Hector Tyndale Post G. A. R., and of the Veteran Corps of the First regiment 
National Guard of Pennsylvania. A man of frank, out-spoken disposition and 
generous impi;lses. Senator Smith has a wide circle of warm friends, and, his 
friendship once given, he is unwavering in his adherence to those who deserve 
it. During an extended period of public service, he has shown that he possesses 
the qualities and the will to faithfully discharge every dutj'. Mr. Smith is now 
engaged in agriciiltural pursuits, and finds in the avocation of a farmer a pleasant 
recreation from the activities of public life. 



Tlie Senate. 




ELLWOOD BECKER, who represents 
the Second Senatorial district, is in 
his fortieth year, having been born in 
Phihidelphia July 20, 1853. His father 
was a tailor. On account of delicate 
health young Becker was not sent to 
school until he was about twelve years 
old. He attended the public school 
only and graduated from the senior 
class of the Park Avenue grammar school 
in Philadelphia. He entered the real 
estate business in the Fifth ward and 
^^^^^^^ ^^ was successful from the start. His 

I "'''^^R ^"""^ ^H geniality and business acumen won him 

■ ^^ ^^ many friends and brought to his office 

numerous and profitable clients, until 
to-day he has in his care 600 houses for 
rent. Senator Becker has always been 
a staunch Republican, and since he has 
reached manhood he has always taken 
an active interest in the affairs of his 
party. The ward in which he resides is doubtful, politically, but of recent years 
it has more frequently been found in the Republican column, and it is not too 
much to say that some of the credit for this result, if not a large share of it, is due 
to the efforts of Senator Becker. His popularity and political activity may be 
understood from the fact that he is the first Republican ever elected to the Senate 
from his district, which is composed of five wards, each of which is Democratic 
except the Fifth. Despite the political complexion of his district he was elected 
Senator over ex-Representative James D. Lee, a very popular Democrat, by a plu- 
rality of 98. This is the only political position Senator Becker ever held, but he 
has attended several conventions, the most important Ijeing the Republican State 
Convention of 1890, which nominated Delamater for Governor. In the Senate he is 
chairman of the Committee on Banks and since the death of Senator Neeb he also 
presides over the Committee on Vice and Immorality. During the session he has 
introduced a bill for the assignment of mortgages and other securities ; a medical 
examiners' bill; a bill to protect the trade marks and labels of labor organizations; 
a bill directing telephone companies to bury their wires within eighteen months, 
which was killed in committee, and a bill compelling agents representing foreign 
insurance companies doing business in this state to pay a license fee of $200. 

Senator Becker is a direc^tor of the Merchants' Title and Trust Company, a 
member of Washington Lodge 59, F. and A. M., Harmony Chapter, Philadelphia 
Commandery, Philadelphia Consistory and one of the incorporators of the Ancient 
and Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Lulu Temple. Mr. Becker has 
taken thirty-two degrees in Masonry. 



The Seno.te. 




FRANCIS A. OSBOURN, who repre- 
sents the Third Senatorial district, 
was born March 1, 1845, in Philadel- 
phia. His ancestry dates back to the 
revolutionary war. At the outbreak of 
the rebellion young Osbourn joined 
company I, Twentieth regiment, In- 
diana volunteers, and was at once sent 
into active service. He received his 
baptism of fire at the occupation of Fort 
Hatteras and the approaches to Roanoke 
Island in 1861, and was under the raking 
guns for two days at Newport News, 
Virginia, of the rebel ram Merrimac, and 
other vessels and in March of the follow- 
ing year witnessed the destruction of 
the Union frigates Cumberland and 
Congress, and the first great naval bat- 
tle between iron ships of war, the Mon- 
itor and the Merrimac. He participated 
m the capture of Norfolk and Ports- 
mouth, Virginia, in May, 1862, and was then transferred with his regiment to the 
Army of the Potomac, joining it at the desperate battles of Fair Oaks and the 
Seven Pines, within seven miles of Richmond. He also took part in Generals 
Kearney's and Hooker's attack on the Confederate capital on June 25, 1863, and 
while charging the enemy's line he was so dangerously wounded in the left arm 
by a rifle ball that amputation at the shoulder joint was found to be immediately 
necessary. On his return to Philadelphia he recruited a company. He went to 
Yorktown in October, 1863, whence he joined in the hazardous expedition to 
support the famous cavalry raid of General Kilpatrick to release the Federal 
prisoners in Libby. During the siege of Petersburg and Grant's movements in 
the assault and exploding of mines he was in the thickest of the fight and twice 
narrowly escaped with his life. On March 13, 1865, he was breveted a ca^jtain of 
United States volunteers by President Lincoln for gallant and meritorious service 
and commanded a company in the Sixteenth regiment Veteran Reserve Corps 
until the close of the war. In 1867 he left the army and began the study of law 
in the oflice of Chas. E. Lex, Esq. In 1869 he was admitted to the bar of Philadel- 
phia. In 1876 he was elected to the House, and during the term of 1877-78 he 
introduced the original municipal reform bill, which became the new city charter 
of Philadelphia in 1885. After the expiration of his term as a legislator he was 
appointed cxiy solicitor by William Nelson "West, which position he held with the 
approval of his superior for six years. In 1884 he was elected to the Senate from 
the Third district, and obtained his seat after a contest in 1889. At the session of 
1893 Senator Osbourn was chairman of the Committee on Municipal Affairs and 
a member of Judiciary General, Judiciary Special, Military Affairs and Pensions 
and Gratuities Committees. 



The Seriate. 




C 



^HARLES WESLEY THOMAS, Sen- 
ator from the Fourth Philadelphia 
district, was born on June 6, 1860, in 
Philadel])hia. His father. Benjamin 
Thomas, a grocer, was a native of Ches- 
ter county. Pa., and of Welsh ancestry. 
The Senator's mother, of Scotch-Irish 
descent, was also born in Chester county 
After attending the public schools of his 
native city, the boy was employed in a 
grocery store, and subsequently was a 
clerk in the general office of the Penn- 
sylvania railroad, on South Fourth 
street. He resigned that place to be- 
come a legislator, and is now in the 
real estate business. Mr. Thomas, who 
has ever been a staunch Republican, was 
a member of the House of Representa- 
tives in the sessions of 1885, 1887 and 
1889, resigning at the close of the latter 
session to accept a position of private 
secretary of the Collector of the Port of Philadelphia, Thomas V. Cooper. He 
resigned this secretaryship in order to take his seat as State Senator, to which he 
was elected in 1890, as the successor of John J. Macfarlane. Mr. Thomas received 
an overwhelming majority for this office, 18,461 votes having been cast for him, 
while his highly esteemed Democratic opponent, John S. Goldback, received only 
10,531 votes. Early in this legislative term many of Mr. Thomas' fellow Sena- 
tors proposed that he should be the next President pro tern, of the Senate, and the 
newspapers of Philadelphia and its vicinity contained very favorable comments on 
the choice, which were copied in other journals. Mr. Thomas is a member of the 
Senate Committees on Finance, Railroads, Municipal Affairs, Insurance, Educa- 
tion and Legislative Apportionment, and is chairman of the Committee on Public 
Buildings. Among the bills introduced by him this session were those appropri- 
ating $635,000 for a new library and administration building and repairs to the 
capitol ; to provide for the care of the indigent insane ; fixing the terms of no- 
taries public, and providing for the investment of the funds of savings banks. Mr. 
Thomas has been a leader in the movement for the abolition of the Public Build- 
ing Commission of Philadelphia. His voice, representing that half of West Phila- 
delphia above Market street, is among the most influential in the Republican 
organization of his city. He served as assistant secretary of the Republican State 
Committee in 1887, and was secretary in charge during the presidential campaign 
of 1888. In the state conventions of 1888 and 1892 he was a delegate. His 
sagacity, amiability, fidelity to friends, and tireless industry and energy made 
him, first, the trusted subordinate, and, finallj', the ever-welcome counsellor and 
fellow manager of the leaders of his party in city and state. 



The Senate. 




CHARLES A. PORTER, of the Fifth 
district, Philadelphia, Avas born 
May 15, 1839, in that section of the 
city known half a century ago as North 
Mulberry ward, on Cherry street, above 
Fifth. His parents were people of mod- 
erate circumstances, and as a boy he re- 
ceived his education principally in the 
Zane Street Grammar School. On at- 
taining manhood he took up the busi- 
ness of his father — that of contractor. 
He was always of a studious disposition, 
and early in li^e evinced an interest in 
politics. He cast his tirst vote in 1860 
for Abraham Lincoln. When but 
twenty-three years of age he received 
his first political appointment, that of 
supervisor of the streets of the city of 
Philadelphia, and served in that posi- 
tion for four years under Mayors Henry 
and McMichael. In 1869 he was elected 
a member of the City Republican Campaign Committee from the Eighth ward, 
served almost continuously for twenty-four years and won the confidence and 
respect of his party in his district. In 1872, 1878 and 1874 he was elected to the 
lower house of the Legislature from the Eighth and Ninth wards. On May 15, 
1875, Mr. Porter removed to the Twenty-eighth ward and has since that time 
been recognized as the leader of the Republican forces in that section. In 1888 
he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention that nominated General 
Harrison for the Presidency of the United States. In 1889 he was unanimously 
elected as chairman of the Republican City Committee and has been chosen to 
the same position every subsequent election. He is an able manager and his 
conduct of political afiairs has always resulted in party harmony. In 1890 he 
was elected State Senator for the unexpired term of Hon. J. E. Reyburn. As a 
Senator, Mr. Porter was always at his post, and has introduced many measures of 
great importance affecting the interests of his native city. Among them the bill 
to vest the authority over all the public schools in the city in the board of edu- 
cation and abolish the sectional boards, and the bill to equalize the representa- 
tion in the councils of the city. In 1892 Senator Porter Avas elected to the Sen- 
ate for the full term. He has assisted many men to political positions and has 
always insisted upon giving the young element of the Republican party an oppor- 
tunity of showing what could be done. He is a liberal contributor to cam- 
paign funds and does not hesitate to assist, financially, those who appeal to him. 
Unassuming in his methods and unostentatious in his dealings with men, he 
manages to make himself as popular with the division workers as with those who 
take part in political contests only when it suits their pleasure and convenience. 
Mr. Porter has followed the business of general contractor for the past thirty 
years. He has been successful in business and enjoys a comfortable fortune. He 
is at present a director of the Chestnut Street National Bank. 



The /Senate. 




B' 



|OIES PENROSE, representing the 
Sixth district of Phihidelphia, was 
born on November 1, 1860, at 1331 
Spruce street, where he still resides. He 
is the eldest son of R. A. F. Penrose, 
M. D., LL. D., a professor in the med- 
ical department of the University of 
Pennsylvania, and a grandson of Charles 
B. Penrose, one of the best known and 
highly esteemed lawyers of the state, 
Siieaker of the State Senate for several 
terms, and Solicitor of the United States 
Treasury, under Presidents William 
Henry Harrison and John Tyler. His 
great-grandfather was Clement Biddle 
Penrose, who was educated in France 
and Switzerland, and who, on his return 
to Philadelphia, Avas appointed by 
Thomas Jefferson, then President of the 
United States, one of the three commis- 
sioners to take charge of the recently 
acquired territory of Louisiana. Boies Penrose, on both sides, comes from pure 
old colonial stock. Through his father he is a direct descendent of William Bid- 
die, a friend and contemporary of William Penn, who came to America about 
the same time as Penn, and who was one of the proprietors of the then Province 
of New Jersey. William Biddle had been an officer in the British army, and 
had been converted to Quakerism by George Fox, the founder of the sect. Wil- 
liam Biddle was the founder of the Biddle family of Philadelphia. Nicholas Scull, 
Surveyor General of Pennsylvania in the old colonial days, was another paternal 
ancestor. Philip Thomas, private secretary to Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore, and 
founder of the Thomas family of Maryland, was a direct ancestor on the maternal 
side. Boies Penrose was educated by private tutors at home, until, at the early age 
of sixteen, he entered Harvard College, from which he graduated with high honors 
in 1881. He was one of the graduates selected to deliver an oration at the com- 
mencement, and his subject was " Martin Van Buren as a Politician." He studied 
law in the office of Wayne McVeagh and George Tucker Bisphani, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar of Philadelphia in 1883. In 1884 he was elected to represent 
the Eighth ward of Philadelpliia in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 
and in 1886 the Sixth district in the Senate. May 9, 1889, he was elected Presi- 
dent jjro tempore of the Senate, and was re-elected January 6, 1891, to the same 
office. November 4, 1890, he was re-elected to the State Senate. He is the author, 
in connection with liis law partner, Mr. Allinson, of a history of the city govern- 
ment of Philadelphia, a volume entitled "Philadelphia, 1681-1887," and a "His- 
tory of Ground Rents in Philadelphia." Mr. Penrose is devoted to his profession. 
At the session of 1893 he was chairman of the Judiciary Special Committee and 
was a member of a number of other important committees. He introduced much 
important legislation, including the bill for the abolition of the Philadelphia 
Public Building Commission, in which he showed a great interest. 



10 



The Senate. 




JOHN C. GRADY was boru iu Eastpori, 
J Maine, October 8, 1847. Practically 
his career began in Philadelphia as a 
l)ook-keeper in the employ of Gould & 
Co. After he had closed the day's ac- 
counts he devoted his evenings to the 
acquirement of the rudiments of law. 
He was admitted to practice in the courts 
of Philadelphia in October, 1871, and 
was very soon conceded a standing as an 
attorney of considerable knowledge and 
ceaseless application. In 1876 he con- 
sented to the use of his name for State 
Senator, and was elected from the 
Seventh district. His majority was 
greater than his party's. He entered 
the Senate the youngest man in the 
body, and was re-nominated in 1880 
without opposition and elected. Dur- 
ing his second term as United States 
Senator a bolt occurred, dividing the 
Eepublican party council into factions. The contention continued for weeks, 
when the Democratic party managers made overtures to the bolters to nominate 
any person they could mutually agree upon regardless of politics who had not 
been voted for. The situation having become critical, Mr Grady succeeded in ob- 
taining a written declination from Galusha A. Grow, the bolter's candidate, which 
had the effect of destroying the balance of power held by the bolters, thus saving 
to his party and the state a United States Senator. 

Then Messrs. Cameron and Quay, the Republican leaders, entrusted him with a 
mission to General Garfield, the President-elect, to present the claims of Penn- 
sylvania to representation in the Cabinet, which was performed to the satisfaction 
of those who delegated him with the mission and left a favorable impression on 
the President-elect. Mr. Grady was asked in a letter written to him by President 
Garfield to accept the appointment of surveyor for the port of Philadelphia, but 
he declined the offer, pieferring to continue in the Senate. He was one of the 
delegates selected by the Legislature to represent Pennsylvania at the Yorktown 
Centennial Celebration, and has served on many of its most important special com- 
mittees, notably as a member of the committee appointed to receive General Grant 
on his return from his trip around the world. For eight years he was chairman 
of the General Judiciary Committee, and eight years chairman of Finance Com- 
mittee. Among his most important services was the championing of a bill which 
was passed preventing the seizing of citizens and taking them to another state 
without process of law or accountability to the laws of the state, and the promi- 
nent part taken by him in the passage ot the new city charter for Philadelphia as 
well as in the new procedure act, which revolutionized the practice of law. He 
was re-elected to a third term, and later on was chosen President jjro tempore of the 
Senate in 1887, and re-elected President in 1889. In 1892 he was re-nominated 
for Senator without opposition, and elected by an increased majority. At the ex- 
piration of his present term he will have served twenty consecutive years in that 
oflBice, and this experience has equipped him as a most thorough parliamentarian. 



The Senate. 



ii 



TACOB GROUSE, of the Eighth Sen- 
J atorial district, was born in Phila- 
delphia February 14, 1840. His father, 
whose birthplace was Baltimore, Mary- 
land, was a boilermaker and his mother 
was a native ot Ireland. He attended 
the public schools in Philadelphia until 
eleven years old, ■when he went to work 
as an errand boy and at the age of thir- 
teen obtained a position in a carpet 
store. He has continued in that busi- 
ness ever since and is now the head of a 
large carpet store on Market street, 
Philadelphia. In 1874 he was elected 
to the State Senate and served during 
1875 and 1876. During 1880 and 1881 
he served a term in city councils of 
Philadelphia and in 1889 was again 
elected to the >Senate to fill the vacancy 
i-aused by the death of Henry S. Taylor. 
In 1892 he was re-elected for a full term 
by a majority of 6,864. He was chairman of the Elections Committee and also 
served on the Committee on Public Buildings. Corporations, Legislative Apportion- 
ment, Finance, Insurance, Education and Centennial Affairs. Mr. Grouse has 
taken an active part in legislative work, being the sponsor of some of the most im- 
portant bills introduced during the session of 1893. Among these were the bills 
fixing the amount of the bond which is required of inspectors of buildings in the 
city of Philadelphia and providing for its cancellation ; providing for the better 
government of cities of the first class ; regulating the construction, maintenance 
and inspection of buildings ; fixing the charges for rental of telephones ; pro- 
viding for the licensing and regulation of houses for the boarding of inlants ; em- 
powering the courts of quarter sessions to grant transfers from one place to another 
of licenses for the sale of vinous, spirituous, malt or brewed liquors or any admix- 
ture thereof. Senator Grouse has been assiduous in the performance of his legisla- 
,tive duties, and has been particularly attentive to committee work and is one of 
the most popular members of the Senate. 





12 



Tlie Senate. 




JESSE MATLACK BAKER, Senator 
J from Delaware county, is of Quaker 
ancestry, and Avas born March 1, 1854, 
at Parkesburg, Chester county. His 
father is a farmer. His early educa- 
cation was had in the public schools, 
from which he entered the Pennsylvania 
Military Academy. He became a cadet 
at the West Point Military Academy in 
.June, 1871, from which institution he 
was honorably discharged in June, 1873. 
The next year he began to teach school 
and followed that avocation until 1879. 
Beginning the study of law, he was ad- 
mitted to the bar of Delaware county in 
1881, and to practice in the supreme 
court in 1884. He served as district 
attorney for Delaware county from 1882 
to 1888, and won his spurs by his able 
conduct of the prosecution in the cele- 
brated Sharpless murder trial. Elected 
to the House of Representatives in 1888, and re-elected in 1890, he soon took rank 
as a legislator, and in the last session impressed his name upon the election laws 
of the state by introducing and advocating to final passage the Baker ballot law. 
No more important measure to the voters of the state has been passed in late years, 
and Mr. Baker has been accorded a deserved popularity for his labors in its enact- 
ment, as well as for the amendments aimed to perfect it which he has introduced 
this session. In 1892 he was elected to the Senate, where his active disposition 
found a congenial field, and many of the most important measures presented were 
framed and introduced by him. He is chairman of the Military Committee, and 
a member of those on Elections, Corporations, Judiciary General and Special, In- 
surance, Mines and Mining and Legislative Apportionment. Senator Baker's 
early military training left its impress upon his character, and on February 5, 1877, 
he enlisted as a private in companj^ G, Eleventh regiment N. G. P. — now com- 
panj^ H, Sixth regiment — and was rapidly promoted to a second and first lieuten- 
ancy, becoming captain of the company on October 22, 1878. His commission ex- 
piring October 22, 1883, he again enlisted as a private one month later, and was 
made qnarterraaster of the Sixth regiment May 24, 1886. His commission expired 
September 14, 1889. On June 17, 1892, he became, captain of company H, Sixth 
regiment, and now holds that position. Mr. Baker takes place among the most 
influential of the new Senators, and has already shown himself a valuable acquisi- 
tion to the higher branch of the Legislature. He is a forcible and ready de- 
bator, a good parliamentarian, and a Senator whose close watch upon all matters 
of legislation keeps him always prepared to intelligently discuss any measures 
that come up for action in the Senate. 



TJie Senate. 




GEORGE ROSS, Senator from Bucks 
county, and the acknowledged 
leader of his party in the Senate, in 
which body he has from his entrance 
therein taken a most active and influ- 
ential imrt in legislative matters, is a 
Pennsylvanian by birth and lineage, 
having been born at Doylestown, August 
24, 1841. He comes of a distinguished 
and honored line of ancestors. Al- 
though his earlier ancestors were of the 
clan Ross of the Highlands of Scotland, 
his great-grandfather, Thomas Ross, was 
born in the county Tyrone, Ireland, in 
1708. Emigrating to America in early 
life he joined the Society of Friends 
and became a distinguished Quaker 
preacher, dying at the house of Lindley 
Murray, the great grammarian, in York, 
England, in 1786. His son, John Ross, 
grandfather of Senator Ross was born in 1770, and died in 1834. Serving 
in the Eleventh, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Congresses, he was appointed 
Justice of the Supreme Court in 1830 and died in the judicial. ermine, a jurist 
distinguished by his learning and probity. Thomas Ross, his son, and father of 
the present Senator from Bucks, was also a prominent lawyer and member of Con- 
gress, representing the Lehigh-Bucks district in the Thirty-first and Thirty-second 
Congresses. Nor is Senator Ross' ancestry on the maternal side less distinguished, 
his mother having been a daughter of Levi Pawling, of Montgomery county, a 
member of the Fifteenth Congress. Senator George Ross was preparatorily edu- 
cated at Hartsville Tennant School, Pennsylvania, and Burlington and Lawreuce- 
ville. New Jersey, and graduated from Princeton College in the class of '61. Choos- 
ing the profession of his forefathers he became a lawyer, and has attained a leading 
position at the bar. Taking an active interest in politics he speedily became 
prominent in his party, and in 1872 was elected a member of the Constitutional 
Convention that framed the present organic law. In 1886 he was elected to the 
State Senate, and was re-elected in 1890. In 1889 he was the Democratic caucus 
nominee for President -pro tempore. In 1884 and 1888 he was the Democratic candi- 
date for Congress in the Bucks-Montgomery district, and in 1893 was the caucus 
nominee of his party for United States Senator against M. S. Quay. In 1876, 1884 
and 1888 he was a district delegate to the National Democratic Convention, and as 
a delegate-at-large in 1892 assisted for the third time in nominating Grover Cleve- 
land for the presidency. In this last convention he served on the committee on 
resolutions. Mr. Ross has been delegate to several state conventions, and was 
permanent chairman of that of 1892. He is a trustee of the Norristown State 
Hospital and president of the Bucks County Trust Company. In the present 
Senate he is a member of the most important committees. He married, on Decem- 
ber 28, 1870, at the Washington Arsenal. Ellen Lyman Phipps, daughter of G. W. 
Phipps, of Boston, Mass., and has six children living. Senator Ross is a lawyer of 
ability and a most careful and conscientious legislator. His speeches are models 
of conciseness and perspicuity, always receiving the interested attention of the 
Senate, and the heat of debate never betrays him into harshness of expression or 
3. forgetfulness of the courtesy due to his opponents. It is no overstatement to say 
that Mr. Ross enjoys the friendship and esteem of his fellow Senators without 
regard to party affiliation. 



14 



The Senate. 




H 



ENRY D. GREEN represents Berks 
county, or the Eleventh Senatorial 
district. He is. serving his second term 
of four years in the Senate, and had 
previously served in the lower house 
from 1883 to 1887 as the representative 
of Reading. In 1892 he was re-elected 
1)y 8,454 majority for a term of four 
years. He was born ou May 3, 1857, in 
Reading, and has continued to reside 
in that place ever since. He attended 
the public schools in his native city, 
and graduated from its high school in 
1872 and after a year spent in prepa- 
ratory study entered the academic de- 
partment of Yale College in the fall of 
1873, where he graduated with the class 
of 1877, receiving the degree of Bachelor 
of Arts. After graduation he studied 
law in the office of his father, an old 
practitioner, and one of the leading 
lawyers of that county, and was admitted to practice on November 10, 1879. Sub- 
sequently, on February 27, he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of 
Pennsylvania. Since that time he has continued in active practice, interrupted 
only by his public duties. He has been actively interested in the success and 
prosperity of Reading and is president of the Reading Real Estate Exchange, which 
company holds large real estate interests in that vicinity. In social life he 
occupies a high position, and is president of the Nautilus Boat Club, the most ex- 
clusive social club of Reading, and is a member of the University Club of Phila- 
delphia. Senator Green comes from one of the oldest and most respected families 
of Berks county, his great-great-grandfather, William Green, having settled in 
Maxatawney township that county, in 1760, and carried on a mercantile business 
there. He was burgess of Reading in 1788 and assessor in 1792. His great- 
grandfather, William Green, was born in Maiden-Creek township that 
county in 1777, and in 1811 was elected sheriff of Schuylkill county, which 
was then cut off of Berks. John Green, his grandfother, Avas born in Or- 
wigsburg, then in Berks county, in 1800, and was recorder of deeds and al.so regis- 
ter of the county of Berks. His father, Albert G. Green, was born in Reading, 
where he still resides, and continues to practice law. Senator Green has 
been on the committees of Judiciary General, Special and Local, Municipal 
Affairs, Appropriations and Game and Fish. In 1891 he was the Democratic 
caucus nominee for President ^ro tempore of the Senate, and at Governor Pattison's 
last inauguration was the chairman of the committee of arrangements. Through 
his efforts enough money was secured from the state to complete the Reading 
Hospital and to add a new dormitory to the normal .school at Kutztown. He also 
secured the passage of the act to secure a separate orphans' court in Berks county, 
which has been in successful operation since the law went into effect, and engi- 
neered through both houses the new registration act. He was also on the con- - 
ference committee which put the finishing touches to what is known as the Baker 
ballot reform law. 



21ie Senate. 



15 




A KTHUR DONALDSON MARKLEY, 



of the Twell'tli district, who is serv- 
ing the last half of his four-year term in 
the Senate from Montgomery county, 
was born in Columbia, Lancaster county, 
Pa., April 28, 1832. He was educated 
m the pul)lic schools and at Partridge's 
Military Academj'^ at Harrisburg, Pa. 
In 1857 he graduated in the medical 
department in the Universitj' of Penn- 
sylvania and practiced medicine at Mont- 
gomery Square, Pa., until 1861, when 
he entered his country's service as a sur- 
geon of the United States navy. On his 
return to his home he resumed the prac- 
tice of his profession until his election 
as member of the House in 1865, 1866 
and 1867. Dr. Markley was very pop- 
ular with his fellow-Democrats in the 
House, and in 1867 was made the Dem- 
ocratic nominee for Speaker. In the 
Legislature of that session he served on the Committee on Historical Painting of 
the Battle of Gettysburg among other committees. He was collector of internal 
revenue in the Sixth district under President Johnson. During the tirst adminis- 
tration of President Cleveland he was postmaster at Hatboro', and has served as 
burgess of Hatboro' and in the councils of Norristown. He Avas elected to the 
Senate in 1890 by the unusually large majority of 1,184. He was nominated for 
Congress in 1886 in the Seventh district, but was unable to accept the honor. 
He was the first president and is now president of the Perkiomen railroad, 
a member of the American Academy of Political Science, of the [Historical 
Society of Pennsylvania, of the Historical Society of Montgomery county, of 
the Loyal Legion of the United States, a charter member of Lieutenant J. H. 
Fisher PostG. A. R., pastmasterof "VV. K. Broy lodge F. and A. M , Hutchinson 
commandery No. 52 A. A. S. R., Orient of Philadelphia, past officer of Hatboro' 
lodge A. O. U. W., and represents the same organization in the Masonic Home 
Societies at Philadeljihia. At the se.ssion of 1893 Dr. Markley served on the Com- 
mittees of Finance, Appropriations, Canals and Inland Navigation, Library, Mil- 
itary, Mines and Mining, Pensions and Gratuities, Vice and Immorality and 
Public Health and Sanitation. He introduced and pushed to the front the bill to 
place state lunatic hospitals in the control of the boards of trustees, which change 
he supported in an exhaustive speech on the floor of the Senate. He also intro- 
duced legislation to ensure the sale of pure milk, which was negatived by the 
Committee on Agriculture because of the opposition rai.sed against it by the milk 
dealers in the vicinity of Philadelphia. 



16 



T]te Senate. 




JOHN HERR LAXDIS, Senator from 
J the Thirteenth district, composed ot 
part of Lancaster, has just tnrned his 
fortieth year, liavingbeen born in Manor 
township, Lancaster county, on January 
31, 1853. His father was a farmer and 
miller, and Tifter having received his 
education in the common schools and at 
the Millersville State Normal School, 
Mr. Landis took up the same occupa- 
tions, and, with the exception of the 
time spent in public and political work, 
has since pursued them. 

Trained from boyhood in Republican 
principles, he began to take part in his 
party's campaigns before his years had 
given him the right to vote, and he soon 
became active in its councils. His first 
appearance in state politics was in 1877, 
when he Avas a delegate to the Republi- 
can State Convention. In 1878 he was 
elected to the House of Representatives and his course was .so satisfactory to his 
constituents that he was returned in 1880 and 1882. His participation in legisla- 
tive affairs was active and influential and made its impress upon the laws of the 
state. The very important and necessary law regulating primary elections was 
introduced and passed to final passage by Mr. Landis. Between his retirement 
from the House in 1883, and his election to the Senate in 1892. Mr. Landis fol- 
lowed his avocation as farmer and miller, taking, however, an active part in local 
and state politics. In every presidential and gubernatorial campaign since he 
became a voter in 1874, he has been a prominent figure, and has addressed large 
numbers of meetings in advocacy of Republican principles and standard-bearers. 
Always a steadfast adherent of that matchless statesman, James G. Blaine, he 
edited, in 1884, a campaign paper called The. Plumed Kniyht, which did much to 
swell the phenomenal majority given that leader in Pennsylvania. And, as a fol- 
lower of Mr. Blaine, he was no less earnest in his advocacy of the system of polit- 
ical economy whose ablest defender was the man from Maine, and from 1890 until 
1893 Mr. Landis was secretary of the Farmers' Protective Tariff" League of Penn- 
sylvania. He was president of the Agricultural Society of Lancaster from 1885 
iintil 1893, and in the taking of the census of 1890 served as United States super- 
visor for the Second district, composed of the counties of Lancaster, Chester, Del- 
aware and York. 

Senator Landis is chairman of the Committee on Retrenchment and Reform, and 
secretary of Agriculture and Education. He is also a member of the Committees 
on Banks, Public Buildings and Compare bills. During the present .session he 
has introduced several important measures, among them those fixing the mini- 
mum school term at seven months, and defining and punishing bribery at elec- 
tions. He is a forcible debator and pleasing speaker and has rapidly taken rank 
among those Senators who more especially mould and influence legislation. 



The Senate. 



17 




W INFIELD SCOTT SMITH repre- 
sents the Fourteenth Senatorial 
district. He was born (and still resides) 
at Bainbridge, Lancaster county, No- 
vember 22, 1847. His father was the 
foreman of the Pennsylvania railroad in 
the vicinity of that town for years, and 
afterwards was elected sheriff of Lancas- 
ter county on the Kepublican ticket, fill- 
ing the office for three years, from 1863 to 
1866, after which he retired to private 
life. He was prominently identified with 
l)olitics in his county for many years. 
His son, Winfield, in his early youth, 
was educated in the common schools, 
with which he severed his connection 
when Imt twelve years old. In 1860 he 
entered a store and has followed the 
mercantile business ever since in con- 
junction with serving as ticket and 
freight agent of the Pennsylvania rail- 
road at Bainbridge for twenty-six years. He has often been a delegate to the state 
conventions of his party and in 1884 was an alternate to the national convention 
which nominated James G. Blaine for President. He served two terms in the 
House, having been elected in 1886 and 1888. He has invariably been compelled 
to fight hard for the nomination, but when placed in the field polled a big vote. 
In 1886 he ran five hundred votes ahead of the late Senator Stehman, who at the 
the time ran for the higher branch of the Legislature. When nominated for the 
Senate in 1890 he had for his competitors ex-Representatives Kauffman and Stober, 
and the race was one of the closest in the history of Lancaster county politics, Mr. 
Smith pa.ssing under the wire a neck in front. He never had the support of the 
men who have controlled the Republican politics of the state and has always 
confined his camjiaign expenses within the requirements of the law. He has 
been on the Lancaster County Republican Committee for twelve years, and the 
member from the committee from his district has never been taken outside the 
family of wliich he was a member since the organization of the Repulican party, 
in 1856. Mr. Smith, at the session of 1893, was the secretary of the Committee on 
Appropriations, chairman of the Committee on Counties and County Seats, and a 
uTember of the Committee on Vice and Immorality and other committees. Among 
the bills he introduced was one for the establishment of experimental tobacco 
stations (afterward amended by him to make it general), and a bill to take from 
pipe line companies the right of eminent domain because of the abuse of the 
power in the counties through which their lines pass. 



18 



The Senate. 




SAMUEL J. M. McCARRELL, who 
represents the Fifteenth district, is 
a native of Washington county, having 
heen born in Buffalo township, that 
county. He is the eldest son of the 
Rev. Alexander McCarrell, D. D., a 
prominent Presbyterian clergj'iuan, late 
of Claysville, Washington county. AVhen 
jMr. McCarrell was a lad he attended 
the common schools of his native home 
during the winter sessions and during 
the summer seasons he worked on a 
farm. He was energetic and a great 
lover of books, and after he had laid the 
foundation of his early education he 
entered the store of his uncle at Clays- 
ville as a clerk, and while so engaged 
prepared himself, under the instruct- 
ions of his father, for college. In 1860 
he entered Washington College and 
four years later he was graduated, 
taking at the time the first honor of his class. From September, 1864, to June, 
1805, Mr. McCarrell was assistant principal of the Linsley Institute at Wheeling, 
West Virginia, and during this time began the study of law with Mr. McKennan, 
of the firm of Richardson & McKennan, Wheeling, West Virginia, but before he 
had finished his law course he removed to Harrisburg, Pa., in 1865, where he 
entered the law office of the Hon. David Fleming, completed his studies and was 
admitted to practice before the Dauphin county courts in 1866. He then became 
the assistant and law partner of Mr. Fleming, and remained as such up to the 
time of Mr. Fleming's death in 1890. Mr. McCarrell was twice elected to the 
office of district attorney for Dauphin county, from 1881 to 1887. He has, since 
his residence in Harrisburg, been very closely identified with the many charitable 
institutions of the state capital city, and in church work has always taken a great 
interest. He is a Republican and in all the campaigns of his party, local, state 
or national, he has been in demand, because he has been recognized as a forcible 
and eloquent speaker. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention 
in 1888, which nominated General Harrison for the Presidency of the United 
States. In the fall election of 1892 Mr. McCarrell was elect€d State Senator to 
represent the Fifteenth Senatorial district, Dauphin county, by a large majority. 
In the nominations and elections for the several political offices which Mr. McCar- 
rell has held, it is a fact worthy of mention that at all of them he was tendered the 
nominations by acclamation and elected by more than the normal party majority. 
Senator McCarrell has displayed great interest in important legislation, is a good 
debater and very popular with his fellow Senators. He is chairman of Constitu- 
tional Reform Committee and a member of the Committee on Insurance, Judiciary, 
General, Judiciary Special, Legislative Apportionment, Libraiy and Railroads. 
Mr. McCarrell follows his profession in Harrisburg, and has a large clientage and 
a lucrative practice. 



The Senate. 



19 




M' 



ILTON CHRISTIAN HENNING- 
ER, who is serving his third term 
as a member of the Senate from Lehigh 
count}', was boru April 21, 1851, in 
l'|)])er Mil ford townslii]), Lehigh county,' 
about a mile from Eniaus postoffice. 
His father was a hard-workiug black- 
smith. The younger Henniuger was 
given the best education attainable and 
attended the common schools of his 
native township and the private schools 
at Emaus from 1857 to 1866, the Free- 
land Seminary (now Ursinus College) at 
Collegeville, Montgoraei-y county, in 
1867, and the Keystone State Normal 
School at Kutztown, Berks county, from 
1868 to 1869. He graduated from the 
latter institution in 1869, and in 1873 
entered Muhlenberg College, junior 
class, and graduated in 1874. He taught 
school in 1868, 1869 and 1870 during 
the winter months and was tutor at Muhlenberg College after his graduation for 
one year. He was admitted to the bar of Lehigh county in 1876 and has practiced 
the profession of his choice in that county ever since he became a lawyer. He was 
elected district attorney at the fall election in 1877 and Served one term of three 
years. He was tirst elected to the Senate from Lehigli county in 1882 and has 
twice been honored with re-election, a political distinction enjoyed by few people 
in the rural districts of the state. In 1890 he was chosen Senator for a term of 
four years by a majority of 2,730, showing that Senator Henniuger's pox)ularity 
has an upward tendency among his constituents. In the Democratic State Con- 
vention of 1882, which nominated Robert E. Patti.son for Governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, Mr. Henninger cast his tirst vote for Eckley B. Coxe, and then suj)ported 
the successful candidate. He is on the Appropriation, Legislative Apportionment 
and Judiciary Local Committees and has introduced bills to enforce section tour, 
article seventeen of the constitution, forbidding the consolidation of competing lines 
of railroads and canals; to enforce the tiftli section of the same article, prohibiting 
common carriers from engaging in mining or manufacturing enterprises, and to 
divert the money derived from wholesale liquor licenses from the state into the 
local treasuries where licensed places are located. Mr. Henninger is one of the 
most cogent rea.soners in the Senate and commands close attention when he dis- 
cusses any subject of importance. 




20 



The Senate. 




JOHN PETER 8HINDEL GOBIN, 
J President pro tempore of the Sen- 
ate, representing the Lebanon (the 
Seventeenth) Senatorial district, was 
born at Sunbury, January 26, 1837, 
Samuel Gobin, father of the General, 
was the best wagon builder in Sunbury. 
The General's mother, Susan Shindel, 
was the daughter of Kev. John Peter 
Shindel, a noted Lutheran divine of 
Sunbury. There he attended public 
school, ex-State Senator S. K. Peale 
having been his last preceptor. He 
learned the printer's trade in the office 
of the Sunbury American and then 
trudged to Philadelphia, where he 
\. ^'^fB^L """IrnKKIK^^^^^^M started the Star of Youth, an organ of 
l^l^V^^^Spi^^^^^^^^^^ the Junior Sons of America. The ven- 
^Sr^^^^ ^I^^H^R ture being meteoric he trudged back to 

Sunbury, taught school, studied law 
with General John K. Clement and M. L. 
Shindel, and was admitted to the bar in 1859. As first lieutenant of company 
F, Eleventh Pennsylvania volunteers, he went into the civil war at its outbreak. 
He became captain of company C, Forty -seventh Pennsylvania, and was judge 
advocate general of the Department of the South. He was promoted to major for 
gallantry and efficiency at the battles of Sabine Cross Roads and Pleasant Hill. 
In July, 1864, his regiment was with Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, and, as 
a full-fledged colonel, young Gobin commanded the gallant Fortj^-seventh at 
Cedar Creek. During a portion of this battle lie commanded the entire brigade. 
He served throughout the war, was brevetted brigadier general and appointed 
provost judge at Charleston. He declined the United States district judgeship for 
the southern district of Florida, tendered him by General Grant. Ever since then 
he has resided in Lebanon, where he is at the head of the bar. He assisted in or- 
ganizing the Grand Army of the Republic, and in 1886 was elected Grand Com- 
mander. As delegate, orator or officer of " the boys " he has ever been admired 
und beloved. He has served as trustee of the Soldiers and Sailors' Home at Erie, 
a commissioner of the Soldiers' Orphans Schools, and a commissioner of the 
Gettyslnirg Monument Association. At the transfer'of the Pennsylvania monu- 
ments at Gettysburg to the Governor, General Gobin delivered the oration. He is 
an active member of the Loyal Legion and the Sous of the Revolution. In 1879 
he became Grand Commander of the Knights Templars of Pennsylvania ; in 1880, 
Grand Captain General of the Grand Encampment of the United States ; in 1883, 
Grand Generalissimo ; in 1886, Deputy Grand Commander, and at the Washing- 
ton Conclave, Grand Master of the United States. In Odd Fellowship he is a Past 
Grand Patriarch of the Stale. He has always been a staunch Republican, and 
cast his first ballot for Lincoln. He has been a State Senator continuously since 
1884, serving on the Judiciary General, Military, the Elections, Appropriations 
and other important committees. He has never worn any master's collar. In 
1871 he recruited the Coleman Guards at Lebanon. In 1874 he was elected 
Colonel of "the dandy I^ighth " National Guard. On June 1, 1885, Governor 
Patti.son appointed him Brigadier General of the Third Brigade, which position he 
yet fills. He originated the massing and encampment of state troops at Mt. 
Gretna in 1885. From comparative obscurity he has risen to eminence and honor 
as citizen, soldier and statesman. 



The Senate. 



21 




EDWARD H. LAUBACH, who rep- 
resents the Eighteenth district, 
was born .September 1, 1852, in wliat is 
now the town of Northampton, North- 
ampton county, Pa. He is a descendant 
of (ierman ancestry, the first of that 
name in this country, Christian Laubach, 
leaving the palatinate of Germany, 
embarking on the • ship Queen Eliz- 
abeth at Kotterdam and landing at 
Philadelphia September 16, 1738. He 
settled in what is now Saucon township 
on lands of the Penn heirs. The family 
has since become numerous and occupy 
a prominent place in the political, busi- 
ness and i)rolessional circles of North- 
ampton and adjoining counties. Sen- 
ator Laubach, after receiving such edu- 
cation as the common schools then af- 
forded, attended the Allentown Sem- 
inary and Military Institute (now Muh- 
lenberg College) from 1862 to 1864. He attended Franklin and Marshall College, 
Lancaster, Pa., during the years 1867, 1868 and 1869. The death of his father, who 
was extensively engaged in mercantile and milling business, and the reluctance ol 
the appointed executors to assume the management thereof, compelled him to re- 
linquish further pursuits of his studies and devote his energies to the development 
of the estate. Besides giving close attention to the welfare of the estate, he is con- 
nected with a number of corporate interests in the capacity of manager or officer. 
"With the exception of director of schools in his native toAvnship. he never held any 
political office until elected, in November, 1890, to represent the Eighteenth dis- 
trict, composed of the county of Northampton, in the Pennsylvania Senate. 
"While not holding office other than the al)Ove mentioned, he has given years of 
service to his party, being just of age when elected a member of the Northamp- 
ton Democratic county committee, which place he has held continuously since, 
with the exception of two years. He has lieen a member of the Democratic State 
Committee many years and often been delegate to state conventions, in which 
has several times been chairman of committees. He is at present, and has been 
several years, chairman of the Democratic County Committee of his county. Was 
elected to the Senate in 1889 by nearly 4,000 majority. During the session of 1893 
he was placed upon the following committees : Railroads, Education, Insurance, 
Congressional Apportionment, etc. Among the bills presented by him during the 
present session are : Granting electric railways the right to carry merchandise ; 
amending the marriage license laws so as to permit licenses to be granted in 
the county in Avhich either of the ccmtracting parties ma^' reside ; preventing 
fraudulent practices by corporations relative to issues of stock and the furnishing 
of supplies ; granting railways, other than steam, the power'and privilege of steam 
railway companies, and to facilitate travel on street railways by permitting cars 
running upon one railwaj' to be run upon and over the tracks of other railways. 



92 



The Senate. 




WILLIAM PKESTON SNYDER, of 
the Nineteeuth district, is a na- 
tive of Chester county. He was born in 
East Vincent township October 7, 1851, 
and received his education in the com- 
mon schools of his native township and 
liis early training on a farm. Later in 
life he attended the Millersville State 
Normal School and LTrsinns College. He 
taught school during the winters of 1868 
and 1869. After a course of study he 
graduated as a physician, in March, 
1873, from the medical department of 
the University of Pennsylvania. He 
returned to Chester county (SpringCity), 
where he now resides, and began the 
practice of medicine and continued as a 
practitioner until 1886, when he accepted 
the position of medical examiner for the 
Relief Department of the Pennsylvania 
Kailrad Company, which j)osition he 
held for nearly two years, from February, 1886, until December, 1887. He was 
appointed and served as postmaster of Spring City from October, 1883, until 
August, 1885. He has always taken a lively interest in the politics of his party, 
the Republican, and was an active worker in all of its campaigns. In November, 
1887, he was nominated for prothonotary of his county, was elected by a large 
majority and served in that office until January, 1891. The year preceding his 
relinquishment of the office he was made the chairman of the County Republican 
Committee, January, 1890. At the count}- primaries (in the fall, 1890, while .serv- 
ing as prothonotary), he was nominated for member of the lower house of the Leg- 
islature and was elected at the fall election, during the Delamater campaign. 
When nominated he resigned the office of chairman of the county committee but 
gave his full attention to the work of the campaign. He was a delegate from 
Chester corxuty to the Reijublican State Convention in 1878, which nominated 
General Henry M. Hoj't for Governor of the state, and he was also a delegate to 
the state convention that nominated General James A. Beaver for Governor in 
1882. Mr. Snyder, when a member of the House of Representatives, was assigned 
to membership on Committees of Congressional Apportionment, Library, Public 
Buildings, Municipal Corporations and to Counties and Townships. At the gen- 
eral election in the fall of 1892, Mr. Snyder was promoted to the higher branch of 
the I.,egislature after a very warm contest for the nomination. In the session of 
the Legislature of 1893 Senator Snyder was appointed chairman of the Committee ' 
on Health and Sanitation, and a member of the Committees on Agriculture, Con- 
gressional Apportionment, Insurance and Finance. 



The Senate. 



23 




M 



iCHAEL E. Mcdonald, the 



from the Twentieth district, was born at 
Hawlev, Wayne county, September 26, 
1858. In 1863 he removed to Dnumore, 
Lackawanna county, where he has since 
resided. Senator McDonald was edu- 
cated in the common schools of Lack- 
awanna county and at Wyoming Semi- 
nary, Luzerne county. He read law 
with Hon. Lemuel Amerman, of. 
Scranton, and was admitted to the 
Lackawanna county bar in October, 
1883, and has since been engaged in 
the successful practice of his profes- 
sion. Mr. McDonald is a Democrat of 
the sterling kind, and has alwaN's taken 
an active interest in politics, with an 
eye single to the right of the people. 
He has served creditably as auditor, 
school director and borough solicitor, 
and was a member of the House of Representatives during the sessions of 1887 and 
1889. representing his district both when it was the Fourth and Eighth of Lacka- 
awanna county. Mr. McDonald's course as a legislator so pleased his constituents 
that they, in November, 1890, honored him by sending him to the Senate, and his 
popularity with his people is shown by the fact that he is the first Democrat to 
hold the position since the Senatorial district was created in 1873. As a Senator, 
Mr. McDonald has always shown the industry and perseverance that have done so 
much to secure for him the confidence of those whom he has represented in any 
capacity. Much of his attention has been given to municipal and mining legisla- 
tion, and of the latter he pays particular attention to that aft'ecting the anthracite 
regions. When anything concerning the miners is up before the Senate, Mr. 
McDonald always takes a prominent part in the discussion, and his vote is always 
cast for measures looking to the betterment of the miners' condition. Regarding 
municipal legislation. Senator McDonald believes in giving cities the largest 
amount of latitude consistent with the rights of the people and the state at large. 
Legislation that aifects his home district receives special attention from Senator 
McDonald, and his vote on such legislation is recorded every time for the benefit 
of his community. Borough legislation is also watched closely l)y the Senator, 
and he loses no opportunity to go on record on the right side. Mr. McDonald is 
OQ some of the most important of the Senate committees — the Judiciary General, 
Mines and Mining, Appropriations and Corporations. He is popular with his 
associates, [and when he puts a request before the Senate as a " personal favor, " it 
is always granted]. Senator McDonald recently joined the Noble Order of Bene- 
dicts. 



24 



llie Se7iate. 



pLARENCE W. KLINE, who repre- 
v^ sents the Twentj'-first district, was 
born near Jerse3'town, Columbia county, 
Pa., on October 25, 1852. He is de- 
scended from Daniel Kline, who emi- 
grated from Germany to America and 
settled at Germautown, Pa., in 1741. 
His son was a soldier in the revolution. 
The grandfather of the Senator served 
in the war of 1812, and his father went 
out with the Columbia Guards in the 
Mexican war as a sergeant and returned 
as first lieutenant and brevet captain. 
Senator Kline was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Lancaster county. At 
the early age of fourteen j'ears he re- 
turned to his native county and applied 
for a school in Anthony township, Mon- 
tour county. He passed a successful 
examination and was appointed to teach 
the Derry school. In 1869 he went to 
Luzerne county and two years later was appointed principal of the Jeanesville 
school and began to read law. He was admitted to the bar and began the practice 
of law at Hazleton June 1, 1877, and has been practicing there since. Has been 
delegate to Kepublican state conventions in 1876 and 1878. Has been member of 
school board and town council of Hazleton and has frequently been chairman and 
secretary of the Fourth legislative district committee of Luzerne countj'. He was 
nominated by the Republicans of the Twenty-first Senatorial district, his opponent 
being J. Ridgway Wright, of Wilkesbarre, a popular Democrat, and while Grover 
Cleveland carried this Senatorial district by over 1,500 majority, Mr. Kline was 
elected by a majority of 67. Mr. Kline is chairman of Public Printing Committee 
and member of the Committees on Judiciary General, Judiciary Local, Legislative 
Apportionment, New Counties and Compare bills. He has introduced bills pro- 
viding for the inspection of inland steamboats ; for the erection of new counties 
out of two old counties ; for county controllers in counties containing over 135,000 
population ; limiting indictments in criminal prosecutions ; amending county 
officers' salaries] in counties containing over 150,000 population : for payment ot 
fees to district attorneys ; for the burial of indigent persons and payment by 
county, and other important measures. 





The Senate. 



25 




WILLIAM M. RAPSHER, who rep- 
resents the Tweuty-second Sena- 
torial district, consisting of Carbon, 
Monroe and Pike counties. Avas born in 
Northampton county, Pennsylvania, 
April 23, 1843. His father was a 
laborer and resided in Carbon county 
at the date of his death, when the sub- 
ject of this sketch was nine years of 
age. The early education of Mr. Rap- 
sher was obtained in the common 
schools of his native county and later 
at Albion College. Michigan, but before 
he had completed his studies the war 
lor the suppression of the rebellion 
broke out, and at the age of eighteen 
years young Rapsher enlisted in com- 
pany E, Sixth regiment Michigan vol- 
unteers, for three years, as a private, 
and participated with his regiment in 
all of the principal battles of the army 
of the Department of the Gulf. At the expiration of his term of enlistment, and 
while still in the field at Port Hudson, Louisania, he re-enlisted and served for one 
3'ear and four months longer, or until the close of the war. After the war Mr. 
Rapsher returned to his native state and engaged in the calling of school teacher, 
and taught in the public schools of Carbon county for four years and meanwhile 
studied law with the law firm of Messrs. Albright & Bertolette at Mauch Chunk, 
Carbon county, Avhere he had concluded to reside. In 1871, having completed his 
law studies, he was admitted to practice before the Carbon county courts and at 
once acquired a lucrative jiractice. Mr. Rapsher has, since attaining his majority, 
taken great interest in politics, and has at difterent times served his party in the 
positions of school director and councilman, and was elected district attornej' of 
Carbon county in 1886. In 1877 he was elected and served as one of the repre- 
sentatives from Carbon county in the lower house of the Legislature. He subse- 
quently resumed his i^ractice of the law in his adopted county, and in 1887, in the 
Democratic State Convention of that year, was strongly urged for a place on the 
State Supreme Court bench. Mr. Rapsher has decided literary tastes and is a 
writer of much force. He contributes frequently to the columns of the Xorth 
American Bcview and many other of the standard monthlies of the day, and his 
articles on the legal, political and social questions of the hour are readable and 
instructive. In the fall election of 1890 Mr. Rapsher was elected Senator, and is 
serving the last two years of his four years' term. Senator Rapsher does not 
generally take much part in discussion in the Senate, but when occasion demands 
shows himself to be a ready and convincing debater. He took a jjrominent part 
in sustaining the Governor in the extraordinary session of the Senate convened in 
October, 1891. On committee work he has been assigned to the Elections, Judi- 
cial Apportionment, Legislative Apportionment, Judiciary Local, Judiciary 
Special, Public Printing and Retrenchment and Reform committees. 



26 



The Senate. 




B' 



fEXJAMIXB. MITCHELL was born 
on a farm in Tioga county, Pa., 
January 14. 1839. He i.s of Scotch-Irisli 
descent, and a son of Kichard Mitchell, 
who Avas among the first settlers of 
Tioga county. He Avas educated in the 
schools of his county, Lewisburg Uni- 
versity and Bryant and Stratton's Busi- 
ness College, Buflfiilo, N. Y. In 1860 
he established a drug and book store in 
Troy, Pa., and though a stranger and 
without any practical experience, suc- 
ceeded in building up a prosperous busi- 
ness. In August, 1861, he helped recruit 
and organize the first cavalry company 
in the county, Avas chosen first lieuten- 
ant and with his company joined the 
Eleventh Peunsj'lvania cavalry. In 
186*2 Lieutenant ]\litchell was promoted 
to captain and took an active part in 
the campaigns and battles of the Avar 
until October, 1864, when he Avas offered a major's commission, but having already 
served over three years for Avhich he enlisted and being broken in health, he de- 
clined further promotion, left the service and returned to Troy, and as soon as his 
health permitted resumed mercantile business. On May 29, 1865, he married 
Ellen E. Pomeroy, only daughter of Samuel W. Pomeroy, of TroA% In 1884, Avith 
others, he engaged in the live stock business in South Dakota and later the com- 
pany was incorporated as the Keystone Land and Cattle Company. Captain 
Mitchell Avas chosen secreterj' and treasurer of the company and has continued to 
look after their large business interests, both at home and in the west, to the 
present time. His principal business in the future, hoAA-cAer, Avill be that of a 
banker, having associated with Mr. S. AY. Pomeroy under the firm name of 
Pomeroy & Mitchell, successors to the old and reliable banking house of Pomeroy 
Bros. For many j^ears he has taken an active interest in politics and public mat- 
ters generally. He has served as justice of the peace at Troy by appointment and 
by election. He has been a member of the borough coimcil, clerk of the borough 
and an active member for many years of the board of education of which he is 
now secretary. He Avas a member of the House from 1882 to 1884, and elected to 
State Senate November, 1892. Senator Mitchell is a member of the following 
committees : Agriculture, Banks, Congressional Apportionment, Education, F^i- 
nance, Insurance, Mines and Mining (chairman), Pensions and Gratuities. 




The iSeuate. 



27 




G' 



KANTHEKKIXG was born May 19. 
1H62, at Centreville, Columbia 
county, Pa. His parents moved to 
Shenandoah, Schuylkill county, in 1864, 
where his I'atlier, Grorge A. Herring, 
was engaged as a coal operator. He 
afterwards served as treasurer of Schuyl- 
kill county for one term. In 1876 he 
mo^'ed to Bloomsburg and filled the 
position of treasurer of Columbia county 
for one term, from 1887 to 1890. Sena- 
tor Herring attended the public schools 
at Shenandoah and afterwards prepared 
for college at the Bloomsburg State Nor- 
mal School. He entered Lafayette Col- 
lege at Ea.ston, Pa., in the classical 
cour.se, September, 1879, and graduated 
June, 1883. He took the first prize in 
the junior oratorical contest in his junior 
3'ear, 1882. After leaving college he 
began the study of law, and was ad- 
mitted to practice in the courts of Columbia county, February 2, 1885, and has 
since been engaged in active i)ractice of his profe.ssion. He was elected to the 
Senate of Pennsylvania. November, 1890, by 5,600 majority, in the Twenty-fourth 
district, composed of the counties of Columbia, Lycoming, Sullivan and Montour. 
At the extra session, in 1891, he was made chairman of the committee to confer 
with counsel for State Treasurer Boyer aud Auditor General McCamant as to the 
proofs, admissions, etc., relating to that investigation, being the first Democratic 
chairman of a committee in that body for many j'ears. This appointment was a 
great compliment to Mr. Herring, as he was the youngest member in the Senate. 
At the Democratic State Convention, which met at Harri.sburg in 1892, he was 
elected a delegate-at-large to the Chicago Democratic Convention, aud there 
offered a resolution instructing the chairman of the Pennsylvania delegation to 
cast its vote as a unit for Grover Cleveland, so long as he might remain in the 
field.' At the session of 1893 he served on the following committees : Judicial Ap- 
portionment, Federal Relations, Judiciary General, Judiciary Speciail, Mines and 
Mining and Railroads. He was particularly Interested in a bill which he intro- 
duced seeking to place Pennsylvania in line with nearly all the states in the 
Union as to the closing of the polls. It provided that the voting should cease at 
4 p. m. The Committee on Elections had the bill in its possession for u long time 
without taking any action on the proposed legislation, and finally reported it with 
negative recommendation. Senator Herring then moved to place the bill on the 
calendar, but his proposition was defeated, although several Republican Senators 
voted with him because they thought he was entitled to have the measure con- 
sidered on its merits bv the Senate. 



28 



The Senate. 



ANTHONY F. BANNON, who repre- 
sents the Twenty-lifth district, was 
born at Blossburg, Tioga county, on 
October 13, 1847. His lather, a coal 
miner, came from Ireland at the age of 
nine years. He was the only son of 
Anthony Bannon, a well-to-do farmer. 
His wife was the daughter of William 
Lonergan, a merchant, who emigrated 
from Ireland in 1836. Senator Bannon, 
the subject of this sketch, was educated 
in night schools and has been occupied 
in coal mining, farming, as a brakeman, 
clerk, merchant, coal dealer and oil 
producer. In the political field he was 
a member of the council of Blossburg in 
1875 and of the council of Kendall Creek, 
McKeau county, in 1880. He was 
elected coroner of McKean county in 
1880, chairman of the Republican 
County Committee in 1883, sheriff in 
1884, delegate to the Republican State Convention in 1885, a congressional con- 
feree in 1888 and 1890, the nominee of McKean county for Senator in 1888, reading 
clerk of the session of the State Senate in 1889 and journal clerk at the session of 
1891, and elected Senator in 1892. He was a menioer of the Senate Committees 
on Accounts (chairman). Appropriation, Judicial Apportionment, Public Printing 
and Constitutional Reform. He introduced at this session the judicial apportion- 
ment bill; an act to repeal the assessment act of 1891 ; to amend the act relating 
to compensation of sheriffs for boarding prisoners; increasing the number of mine 
inspectors' reports ; extending to cities of the third class the right to establish in 
schools mechanical arts and kindred subjects. Mr. Bannon was born a Republi- 
,can. His first vote was cast for W. H. Armstrong for Congress on the day he was 
twenty-one, October 13, 1868, and the following month voted for General Grant 
for President. He has been what is called a working Republican, always ready 
to give his time and means to the success of the ticket and every name on it, and 
his Republican constituents have shown their appreciation of his fidelity by 
repeatedly honoring him with responsible positions, which he filled with ability 
and to the satisfaction of his people. 





Tlte Sertdtr. 



29 




\ 



AMES ROONEY, although a Demo- 
crat of the strictest kind, represents 
the Tweutj-sixth district, composed of 
tlie strong Republican county of Susque- 
hanna and the close Democratic county 
of Wayne. He was born in Auburn 
township, Susquehanna county, Sep- 
tember 16, 1851, and was educated in 
the public schools. He has devoted a 
large part of his life to farming, and for 
the past twelve years has been engaged 
in the wholesale baled hay trade. He 
has always exhibited great running 
qualities when nominated for office. 
Auburn, where he resides, consists of 
three election districts, which are all 
largely Republican, but as a candidate 
for poor director in these districts and 
four heavy Republican townships, he 
received at least 400 Repul)lican votes 
and was elected to the office by an over- 
whelming majority. He held this position for three years. In 1890 he Avas elected 
to the State Senate by a majority of 522 votes, in a district which in presidential 
years casts a Republican majority of over 1,500. In that campaign he had for his 
opponent ex-Senator Lines, who had served in the Senate at the previous session. 
Mr. Rooney was one of the delegates to the Democratic State Convention from Sus- 
■quehanna county which nominnted for the supreme bench Judge McCollum, who 
was elevated to membership in this tribunal on account of the death of Judge 
Trunkey after Judge McCollum's nomination, necessitating the election of two 
judges. Mr. Rooney attended this convention at the personal request of his suc- 
■cessful friend. During the session of 1893 Senator Roone\' introduced a bill look- 
ing to the making and repairing of roads in townships and providing for the elec- 
tion of road commissioners and the appointment by them of roadmasters and the 
building of roads by contract ; to prohibit constables from making returns to 
court unless they found violation of the law, and to repeal the registry act of 1891, 
which reqviired two lists of voters to be prepared each year and conset[uentl3^ en- 
tails a large expense on the several counties without accomplishing any apparent 
beneficial results. 




30 



T]ie Senate. 




WILLIAM HOOD HACKENBUKG, 
ot Milton, Northuiubedand county, 
who represents the Twenty-seventh 
district, was born May 14. 1859, and 
was educated in the public schools. 
He learned the printer's trade and 
afterwards began the study of the law, 
being admitted to the bar of North- 
umberland county in Februrary, 1881. 
He was a justice of the peace at Milton 
from May 1, 1881, to September 18, 
1884, when he resigned. During the 
years 1884 and 1885 he was chief 
burgess of the borough of Milton. Mr. 
Hackenburg was a delegate to the 
State Republican Convention of 1886, 
by which General Beaver was nominated 
for Governor, and of the convention that 
four years later nominated ex-Senator 
Delamater for the same honor. lu 1891 
he was a candidate for the Republican 
uomination for president judge of Northumberland county, and went into the con- 
vention with more than one-third of the delegates, made a hard light and was de- 
feated by a narrow majority. He was elected a member of the Senate in 1892, 
defeating his Democratic opponent, Harry E. Davis, by 638 votes. 

Recognizing his ability as a lawyer. President pro lempore Gobiu, at the inau- 
guration of Senate appointed Mr. Hackenburg chairman of the Committee on Ju- 
dicial Apportionment, a position he is thoroughly competent to till. He is also 
a member of the Committees on Judiciary General, Railroad, Mines and Mining, 
Judiciary Local and Library. Among the most important bills introduced by 
i\Ir. Hackenburg are the following : Giving chief burgesses the veto power and 
providing for organization of councils ; taking the granting of liquor licenses out 
of the hands of the court, dividing the state into license districts and providing 
for a license board equally divided, politically, to grant licenses. He is an 
eloquent and logical talker, a ready debater and a lawyer of great promise. Mr. 
Hackenburg takes a prominent part in the councils of his party in the Senatorial 
district which he has the honor to represent, and is destined to become one of the 
most conspicuous party leaders in the Senate. 




Tilt Senate. 



31 




GERARD C. BROWN, who represents 
the Twenty-eighth district, or York 
county, is of Puritan, colonial and revo- 
lutionary stock and is a direct descend- 
ant in the seventh generation from 
Thomas Brown. Esq., of Rye, county of 
Essex, England, who emigrated to Con- 
cord, Mass., in 1(532. The family is a 
younger brancli of the Browns, of Beech- 
worth, county of Kent, England, which 
was founded by Sir Anthony Brown, 
created Knight of the Bath at the corona- 
tion of Richard II. in 1377. Senator 
Brown's great-great-grandfother, JNIajor 
Hachaliah Brown, commanded the AVest- 
chester levies in the French and Indian 
war of 1757-8, at the siege of Lewis- 
burg, under General Lord Amherst. His 
great-grandfather, second son of Major 
Brown, served under Washington in tlie 
revolution. His father, Benjamin F. 
Brown, was boru in Soniers, New York, January 11, 1799, and spent twenty-live 
years of his life in traveling. In 1841 he married Mary Sophia, daughter of 
Alfred Cops, of the Tower of London, where, on November 12, 1842, his eldest 
child, Gerard Crane Brown, was born. In August, 1845, he returned to the United 
States with his family and re-occupied his farm in C'armel, Putnam county, New 
York, where he died Septemljer 25, 1881. Senator Brown received his education 
at the North Salem Academy, Westchester county, N. Y., Phillip's Academy, 
Andover, Mass., class of 1859, and Yale College, class of 1863. He left Yale Col- 
lege when eighteen years old, on the day ft)lIowing the bombardment of Fort 
Sumpter, and began raising a company on April 15, 1861, before Lincoln had 
issued his call for 7."),000 volunteers. Senator Brown served as first lieutenant 
and was wounded at Bull Run July 21 and honorably discharged September 
20. 1861. On February 8, 1872, Mr. Brown was married to Caroline Victoria, 
daughter of Dr. J. W. Barcroft, of Fairfax county, Virginia. He has five children, 
Benjamin and Gerard, and Mary B. B., Eva W. and Carolene. He has followed 
farming since the close of the war. He has been deputy of the state grange for 
York county for seventeen years, lecturer of the Pennsylvania State Grange from 
1886 to 1890 and a member of the legislative committee of the Grange from 1890 
to 1893. He was first elected State Senator in 1886, re-nominated by acclamation 
and re-elected in 1890. He did active work as a speaker during the recent presiden- 
tial campaign in West Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. In the 
Legislature of 1893 he served on the Committees of Agriculture, Finance, Game 
and Fish, Insurance and Library. He was the Democratic caucus nominee f.ir 
President pro tempore. Among the bills he introduced were those to enforce the 
anti-oleomargarine law of 1885 ; to create a dairy and food commi.ssioner ; to en- 
large the powers of the State Board of Agriculture ; to enforce article .seventeen 
of the constitution ; to legalize eel weirs and to equalize taxation. 



82 



The Senate. 




T UTHER RILEY KEEPER, of the 
A-' Twenty-ninth district, who is now 
(1893) serving his fifth term as a State 
Senator, was born March 5, 1834, at 
Harrisburg. His father, Andrew Keefer, 
a descendant of the French Huguenots, 
was a cabinetmaker and merchant at 
Harrisburg until 1847 when he moved 
to Schuylkill Haven. He attended the 
public schools of his native city, and 
in his new home after removing to 
Schuylkill Haven he was admitted into 
the higher classes of the public schools 
of that place. He pursued an academic 
course in a private school at Schuylkill 
Haven after he had completed the course 
at that time taught in the public schools. 
In 1849 he was apprenticed to learn the 
trade of foundryman at the Colebrook- 
dale iron works, in Berks county, of 
which W. W. Weaver was proprietor. 
After an apprenticeship of four years Mr. Keefer, in 1853, returned to his home 
and soon afterwards established a foundry and machine shop, with his brother, 
John B., at West Haven, now Cressona, Schuylkill county. Pa., and carried on 
this business very successfully until 1875 when he withdrew from active manufac- 
turing business. From his earliest manhood Mr. Keefer was an enterprising and 
progressive citizen and his neighbors held him in the highest esteem. He was 
called upon to serve the community in which he Vesided in various capacities and 
was in turn elected a member of councils, burgess and school director. When the 
war broke out, though Mr. Keefer's business was such as to require his personal 
attention, but he arranged it so that in 1862 he could enter the service of the gov- 
ernment and during that and the following year he was enrolling office for the 
United States government in his district. When the rebel forces invaded Penn- 
sylvania in 1863 he enlisted for the emergency campaign, in company A, Twenty- 
seventh regiment Pennsylvania volunteers. Was afterwards appointed Deputy 
United States Marshal for the Fourteenth sub-district of Pennsylvania. Mr. 
Keefer is not an orator in the common acceptation of the term, though he is one of 
the most industrious and successful legislators in the body of which lie is a mem- 
ber, and has served on the Senate Committee on Railroads as its chairman for 
twelve years. He is at present on the Committees of Finance, Appropriations, 
Pensions and Gratuities, Corporations, Apportionment, Mines and Mining and 
Elections. In 1880 he served on the special committee to examine into the 
alleged misappropriation of money by the State Treasurer, and in 1888 was on the 
special committee to draft a general revenue bill, and also during the session of 
1889 was a member of the special elections committee of the Senate to determine 
the election contest in the Third Senatorial district, Philadelphia, in the case of 
Osbourn r. Devlin. Senator Keefer is a genial companion and very popular. 
He is a member of the board of trustees of Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg, 
a member of the board of trustees at the Kutztown Normal School and takes 
great interest in educational affairs. 



Tlie Senate. 



33 



BERNARD J. MOXAGHAN, who 
represents the Thirtieth district, 
was born at Ashland, Schuylkill county, 
March 31, 1861. lie attended the 
schools of his native town and Shenan- 
doah and subsequently Villanova Col- 
lege, Delaware county, and Bryant & 
Stratton's Business College, Philadel- 
phia. From the three last-named in- 
stitutions he graduated. In 1877, when 
he was sixteen j'ears old, he entered the 
mercantile business under the firm name 
of John B. Mouaghan »& Sons, and has re- 
mained in it ever since. He is also the 
senior member of the firm of Monaghan 
Brothers & Co., which is engaged in 
the grain, coal and lumber business at 
Hawarden, Iowa. Senator Monaghan's 
parents were born in Ireland, but they 
came to this country when very young, 
the father being only five and the 
mother only two years of age. He never held any other office but Senator, and 
had for his opponent for the nomination in 1890, when he was made the Demo- 
cratic candidate for the position he holds, ex-Senator Watson, a relative by mar- 
riage. His opponent, in the fight for election, was a cousin of Mr. Monaghan. 
His district takes in the northern portion of Schuylkill county. At the session of 
1893 he served on the Committees of Municipal Affairs, Insurance, Elections and 
Centennial Affairs. He introduced among other bills one to provide that life in- 
surance companies shall not be permitted to issue their policies or contracts of 
insurance in this state unless they shall clearly set forth upon the policies a true 
and correct copy of the representations made by their agents or proper officials to 
the insured at the time of the signing of the application. 





34 



The Senate. 



] OSEPH MILLIKEN WOODS is the 
J only man who has been re-elected 
Senator from the Thirty-first district, 
composed of Perry, Juniata and Mifflin 
counties. He -was born'on January'5, 
1854, at New Berlin, Union county, 
Pa. His father was an attorney -at-law, 
and the Senator's paternal grandmother 
was the youngest daughter of John 
Witherspoon, a signer of the Declara- 
tion of Independence. The Senator at- 
tended school in Lewistown, Pa., until 
1870, and then spent three years as a 
student in the Bellefonte Academy. In 
1873 he entered Princeton College, from 
which he graduated in 1876. He has 
been practicing as an attorney-at-law 
at Lewistown, since 1878. He was 
elected district attorney of Mifflin 
county in 1880, and in 1888 he was 
chosen State Senator, defeating George 
Jacobs, the Democratic candidate, who, in 1890, made the speech nominating 
William A. Wallace for Governor at the Scranton Convention, which made Robert 
E. Pattison the Democratic gubernatorial nominee. Mr. Woods was re-elected to 
the Senate by 296 majority in 1892, Avhen his Democratic opponent was Joseph C. 
McAlister, whom Perry county elected district attorney. Mr. Woods was a dele- 
gate from the Thirty-first Senatorial district in the Republican State Convention 
of 1883. He is chairman of the Senate Committees on Judiciary Local and Game 
and Fish, and also a member of the Committees on Appropriations, Centennial 
Affairs, Judiciary General, Federal Relations, Canals and Inland Navigation, and 
New Counties and County Seats. Among the important bills which he intro- 
duced at the sessions of 1893 are those to reimburse to counties money expended to 
re-erect the bridges destroyed by the floods of 1889 ; to extend the limitation of 
action to the right to mine iron ore ; and to prevent deception and fraud by 
owners or agents controlling any stallion left for service. Among the societies to 
which Senator Woods belongs are the Odd Fellows, the Apprentices' Literary 
Society of Lewistown, and the Patriotic Order Sons of America. He is an athlete 
and was formerly an expert baseball player. He has been conspicuous in securing 
legislation beneficial to the fish and game interests of the state. 





The Senate. 



35 




WILLIAM PENN LLOYD, of the 
Thirty-second district, was born in 
Lisburn, Cumberland county. Pa., Sep- 
tember 1, 1837. His father was Wil- 
liam Lloyd and his mother Amanda 
Anderson Lloyd. His ancestors, on his 
father's side, were Welsh Quakers, or 
Friends, and came to this country in 
1682, a few months prior to the arrival 
of William Penn, and settled on the 
"Welsh Tract" in Delaware county. 
About the close of the war for Indepen- 
dence, his grandfather, Isaac Lloyd, re- 
moved to Cumberland county. On his 
maternal side he is of .Scotch -Irish ex- 
traction, and ti'aces his lineage back to 
those sturdy pioneers Avho, pushing 
westward from Chester county, estab- 
lished the first permanent settlement 
west of the Susquehanna river about 
the year 1720. Three of his great 
uncles, John, James and George Anderson, served in the Continental army during 
the Revolutionary war, and their father, George Anderson, was a lieutenant in 
Colonel William Moore's Chester county regiment during the Braddock campaign 
of 1755. Mr. Lloyd spent his youth on a farm, received his education in public 
and private schools, and taught in the former for eight terms. He enlisted as a 
private in the First Peunsj'lvania cavalry September 1, 1861, and was discharged 
as adjutant, with his regiment, September 9, 1864, serving frequently, during the 
last year, as adjutant general of a brigade. He participated in all the campaigns, 
and in a large number of the battles of the Army of the Potomac during this 
period ; was commissioned division inspector of the National Guard of Pennsyl- 
vania with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1873 ; was commander of the Grand 
Army Post of Mechauicsburg for seven years and is the author of the history of the 
First Pennsylvania cavalry. He studied law with Colonel William M. Penrose, 
of Carlisle, and was admitted to the Cumberland county bar in 1865. In 1866 he 
was appointed United States Collector of Internal Revenue for the Fifteenth Con- 
gressional district of Pennsylvania. This office he resigned in 1869 to accept a 
position in the Dauphin Deposit Bank of Harrisburg, which he held for nearly fif- 
teen years. He quit the bank in 1884 and has been engaged in the practice of his 
profession in Mechauicsburg and in the management of extensive financial and 
agricultural interests since that date. The only elective jwlitical office for which 
he has ever been a candidate was his present position as Senator. His majority 
over his Republican competitor was 3,143. The usual Democratic majority in his 
district is about 1,200. He is a member of the Judiciary General, Corporations, 
Finance, Military Affairs, Pensions and Gratuities, Centennial Affairs and Agri- 
cultural Committees, and has been prominently identified, while in the Senate, 
with the legislation on the subjects of public roads, common schools, fence laws, 
equalization of taxation, Sunday laws and municipal government. His argument 
on the question of jurisdiction in the extraordinary session of 1892, indicates care- 
ful research and a clear comprehension of the subject. At the present session he 
led the opposition in the Senate against any change in the Sunday laws, and it 
was largely through his vigorous efforts that the fence bill was defeated. As 
speaker and Avriter, he has, for years, given much attention to the discussion of 
social and economic subjects, and especially to our agricultural interests. He is 
now also filling a number of important positions of pul)lio and private trust. 



3tJ 



21ie tSenate. 




W. 



U. BREWER, of the Thirty-thinI 
district, was born in Montgomery 
township, Franklin county, on April 3, 
1844. His father was a farmer, and his 
early years were spent in the labors inci- 
dent to that occupation. Receiving his 
early education in the schools of Green- 
castle, Pa., he taught for a number of 
years in Franklin and Lancaster coun- 
ties and then attended the Millersville 
State Normal School, graduating in the 
scientific course. After his graduation 
he was connected with the normal 
school for nearly three years as instruc- 
tor in mathematics. He returned to 
Franklin county in 1868, and having, 
while teaching, taken up the studj' of 
law, was admitted to the bar on Decem- 
ber 12 of that year. From that time he 
has been actively engaged in the prac- 
tice of his profession and has won envi- 
able and honorable prominence as a lawyer. His business is not confined to the 
courts of his own county, but extends to the adjoining county of Fulton, and for 
the past eight years he has been retained in a large number of the cases appealed 
from the lower to the supreme courts. An ardent and acti\e Republican, he has 
always taken a prominent part in politics, and has done elfective campaign work 
in many parts of the state, but he was never an aspirant for public office until 
1892, when, as the Republican candidate for State Senate in the Thirty-third dis- 
trict, composed of the counties of Franklin and Huntingdon, he was elected by a 
majority of 1,812, the largest ever cast therein for that office. On entering upon 
his duties, Mr. Brewer was made chairman of the Committee on Federal Relations 
and given a place on the imi)ortant Committees on Judiciary General, Judiciary 
Local, Congressional Apportionment and Library. From the first he has taken an 
active and useful part in legislation, and his legal training and experience, and 
incisive logical powers as a debator have given him a prominence and influence 
not often won by a Senator in his first se-ssion. Regular in attendance and thor- 
oughly acquainted with the character and scope of the measures as they come up 
for consideration and disposal, he is prepared to vote upon a discriminating knowl- 
edge of their merits. His reasons for advocacy are clearly stated, his opposition 
made with courtesy and freedom from acrimony, and these qualities, added to a 
respect for his ability and sincerity, and esteem as a man, have conduced towards 
making Mr. Brewer a popular and influential member of the Senate of Pennsyl- 
vania. 



The Senate. 



37 




PGKAY MEEK, who repieseuts the 
• Thirly-fouith district, composed 
of the counties of Clintou, Centre and 
Clearheld, is of Scotch ancestry. He is 
a descendant of Robert Meek, who emi- 
grated from Edinburgh to this country 
before the revolutionary war, and who 
had six sons in that conflict, three of 
wliom lost their lives. Captain George 
Meek, his son, was a companion of 
James Harris in his early surveying 
expeditious. William Meek, son of 
George, was the grandfather of Senator 
Meek, and the latter's father was Reu- 
ben H. Meek, on whose farm the sub- 
ject of this sketch was born, July I'i, 
1842. Senator Meek's education was 
obtained in the common schools. He 
began life as a school teacher at Lumber 
City, Clearfield county, in the winter of 
1855 and 1856. After passing a short 
time as clerk and doing a liitle farming, he, in May, 1861, became the junior 
editor of the Democmiic Watchmitn, of Bellefonte. He was not only a senten- 
tious but courageous writer, and his free criticisims of the manner in which the 
war was being conducted involved the proprietors in trouble, compelling him to 
sever his connection with the paper. In the following July he purchased a half 
interest iu the Watdiman. and from that time his impress was sensibly felt on the 
paper, which has gradually grown in popularity until it is unequaled among the 
country weeklies in the state. During the war Mr. Meek was seveial times ar- 
rested for his outspoken denunciation of the policy of the Republican adminis- 
tration then in control of the government. He was imprisoned in the cotton 
factory barracks in Harrisburg, and then discharged on parole without being 
informed as to the charges against him or the cause of his arrest. His con- 
stitutents never lost confidence in him, and in 1867, 1868, 1870 and 1871 they 
elected him to the House of Representatives by large majorities. During these 
years he secured the passage of a lumberman's lien law, and an act requiring rail- 
roads to fence their lines in Centre county or pay for stock killed, both of which 
measures have proven of material benefit to the laboring men and larmers of his 
section. In 1872 he was secretary to the Democratic State Committee. In 187:5, 
1875 and 1876 he had the endorsement of his county for State Senator, and subse- 
quently he was defeated for the Democratic Congressional nomination by Governor 
Curtin" ])y only two votes. In 1882 he was editorial secretary of the Democratic 
State Committee, and served as one of its secretaries during the campaign of 1883 
and 1884. He was elected chief clerk of the House of Representatives, January, 
1883, and filled that ])ositiou during the memorable regular and special sessions of 
that year. In 1890 Mr. Meek was elected to the Senate by a majority approxinm 
ting 5.000. He was made a meml)er of the Committees on Appropriation, Banks, 
Insurance and Congressional Apportionment, and prepared the congressional and 
senatorial apportionment bills presented and advocated by the Democrats. His 
principle efforts during this session was put fortli to secure some legi.slation taxing 
unnaturalized i)ersons for poor purposes. At the session of l?^y3 he served on the 
Committees on Banks, Congressional Apportionment, Insurance. Legislative Ap- 
portionment, Public Printing and other committees. He was the author of the 
Democratic bill to apiwrtion the state into congressional districts, which was 
arranged with great care, and particular reference to contiguity of territory 
and made tlie population in each district as nearly equal as possible. 



38 



IVie Senate. 




y 



OHN A. LEMON, of Blair county, 
of the Thirty-fifth district, was 
born iu Cambria county, Pa., and 
lias resided in Blair county all his 
life. He received a common school 
education at Hollidaysburg. For years 
Colonel Lemon has been a coal operator 
and railroad contractor, and of the 
thousands of employes under him while 
in active business there is not one who 
does not regard him as a pei'sonal 
friend. Colonel Lemon was once 
elected burgess of Hollidaysburg. In 
1872 he was nominated for Sen- 
ator in a strong Democratic district. 
So great was his popularity that the 
Democrats declined to nominate a can- 
didate in opposition to him and he was 
unanimously elected. In 1876 his con- 
stitutents demanded that he again rep- 
resent them iu the Senate, giving him 
a majority of 691 in a district usually Democratic by one thou.sand. Colonel 
Lemon's name was frequently mentioned in connection with State offices, but he 
usually declined the honor until 1880, when he was elected Auditor General by a 
handsome majority. Returning to his home at the expiration of his term of three 
years, he was again returned to the Senate, and has been a member of that body 
continuously ever since. He was elected to his third term in the Senate by 1,906 
majority. His re-election in 1892, when his defeat was confidently predicted 
by the Democratic opposition, was secured hy a majority of 1.655. Senator 
Lemon is a member of these committees — Agriculture, Centennial Affairs, Fi- 
nance, Public Printing and Railroads. His modest ways and courteous treat- 
ment of his associates have made him one of the most popular members of the 
Senate. While making no claims as an orator, he is still successful in securing 
for his constitutents the best results in legislation, and the interests of the people 
at large are safe in his hands. 




'rite Senate. 



39 




N' 



ORMAN BRUCE CRITCHFIELD, 
of Somerset county, who represents 
the Thirty -sixth district in the State 
Senate, was born in Somerset county. 
Pa., July 20, 1838. His great-great- 
grandfather came from Wales about the 
middle of the eighteenth century, and 
settled in New Jersey. At the close of 
the war for Independence, in which he 
served, his great-grandflxther went to 
Virginia, where he married and soon 
afterward took up his residence in Som- 
erset county, Pa. His great-grand- 
father, grandfather and father were 
farmers, and Senator Critchfield also 
followed that avocation. His early edu- 
cation was obtained in the public and 
normal schools ot Somerset county. In 
1856 he entered the Ohio University at 
Athens, Ohio, and the following spring 
returned to his native county and spent 
the summer in a private school. He taught school for a number of years and was 
superintendent of schools in Somerset county from 1866 to 1869. From 1885 to 
1889 he was prothonotary of common pleas and clerk of criminal courts of his 
county, and in 1890 was elected to the Senate from his district, consisting of Som- 
erset. Bedford and Fulton counties, by a plurality of nearly 1,700. At the session 
of 1891 he was chairman of the Committee on Accounts, secretary of the Commit- 
tee on Agriculture and a member of the Mines and Mining, Health and Sanita- 
tion and Education Committees. Two years later he was made chaii-man of the 
Committee on Agriculture, and was given a place on the Appropriations and 
Health and Sanitation Committees. He introduced bills to make the Secretary of 
the State Board of Agriculture ex-officio a member of the board and to prevent the 
spread of the disease known as tuberculosis among domestic animals. What is 
known as the agricultural delegation of the Legislature, consisting of about one 
hundred members, elected him its secretary. Senator Critchfield has not only a 
civil record of which he may feel proud but he performed creditable service in the 
war of the rebellion. He served three years in the Union army and participated 
in the coast campaigns in East Virginia and South Carolina and in Sherman's 
famous campaign which culminated in the capture of Atlanta and Savannah. He 
also served with General Sherman in his march through the Carolinas and Vir- 
ginia, ending at Washington, at the close of the war. 



40 



Tfie Senate. 




Tames george Mitchell, of the 

J Thirty-seventh district, was born in 
Perrysville, Jefterson county, Pa., Jan- 
uary 15, 1847. He is of Scotch-Iiish 
lineage, his ancestors having settled in 
this state in the pioneer days of the 
colonist. His father was high sheritf of 
Jefferson county in 1854 and was well 
known and highly esteemed for his 
many manl}' and frank traits of charac- 
ter. These characteristics Mr. Mitchell 
retains in a very marked degree. His 
education, until he was fourteen j'ears 
of age, was received in the common 
schools of Jefferson county, but before 
he had completed his studies the war of 
the rebellion broke out and young 
Mitchell, though unable to enlist as a 
soldier, because of his youth, determined 
to go with his companions and enlisted 
as a drummer boy in company A, One 
Hundred and Fifth regiment Pennsylvania volunteers, and served, with his regi- 
ment, from Yorktown to Appomattox, where the war closed. His service in the 
army covers the battles of William.sburg, Fair Oaks, Charles City Cross Roads, 
Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, AVilderness, 
Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Sailor's Creek and Appomattox. He en- 
joyed the distinction of being the only Union soldier present at the famous meet- 
ing between General Hancock and the Confederate General Stewart after the cap- 
ture of Stewart's entire division at Spottsyh-ania, May 12, 1884. His regiment, 
known as "The Wild Cats," lost during the war two hundred and fifty killed in 
battle. After the close of the war he returned to his home, Hamilton, Jefferson 
county, Pa., and settled down to learning the trade of plasterer, which he fol- 
lowed for ten years, after which he entered upon a mercantile life, which business 
he still follows. For ten years he was a captain in the State National Guard and 
only relinquished this position when the cares of business became onerous. He 
has always been an active party politician, taking a lively interest in all the con- 
tests of his party whether in city, county, state or national elections. He was a 
delegate to the State Republican Convention in 1888, a member of the Republican 
State Committee in 1890, a member of the board of county auditors for Jefterson 
county in 1874 and was elected to the State Senate, as a Republican, at the election 
of 1892, receiving a majority of over 2,000 votes over the combined votes cast for 
the Democrat, Labor and Prohibition opponents for the same office. Mr. Mitchell 
is chairman of the Senate Committee on Pensions and Gratuities, a member of the 
Committees on Constitutional Reform, Health and Sanitation, Military Affairs, 
Game and Fish, Canals and Inland Navigation and Retrenchment and Reform. He 
has always been an advocate of local option and introduced a local option bill in 
the Senate. He is not a prohibitionist. Senator Mitchell is not a debator but in 
committee is an earnest and succe.ssful worker. 



TJie Senate. 



41 




HARRY ALVAN HALL was born at 
Kaitliaus, Clearfield county, Pa., 
October 7, 1861. He is of Scotch-Irish 
descent, but his family settled in Amer- 
ica more than two centuries ago, and 
his ancestors on both sides were engaged 
in the War of the Revolution. Mr. 
Hall is the youngest of seven children. 
His father, Benjamin McDowell Hall, 
was a banker and the leading citizen of 
Elk county. The subject of this sketch 
was prepared for college in the Benedic- 
tine Monastery at St. Marys, Pa., by 
the Rev. Edward Hepelius, one of the 
most distinguished linguists of the 
Benedictine Order. He afterward at- 
tended Dickinson Seminary, University 
at Lewisburg and Yale College, gradu- 
ating from the last-named institution. 
He was admitted to the bar at New 
Haven, Conn., in June, 1881, and has 
since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession at his home in Elk 
county. He was political editor of the Elk County Gazette for three years and is a 
regular contributor to a number of magazines. He is general manger of the 
Clarion River railway, and has large business interests in Elk county. On June 
10, 1886, he was married to Miss Currin McNairy, a daughter of the late Colonel 
Currin McNairy, of Nashville, Tenn. Senator Hall's first elective office was that 
of chief burgess of St. Marys, to which he was elected for five consecutive terms. 
He has taken part in nearly every Democratic State Convention for the past ten 
3'ears, was a delegate to the National Democratic Couvention at Chicago in 1884 
and delegate-at-large to the Democratic National Convention at the same place in 
1892. He was elected to the Senate from the Thirty -eight Senatorial district in 
1890 by a large majority. He is captain ol company H, Sixteenth regiment 
National Guard of Pennsylvania, the finest sharpshooting regiment in the state 
and the one longest on duty at Homestead, Pa., during the riots of 1892, at which 
time Captain Hall was in active service with his regiment there for a period of 
ninety-five days, the most protracted service rendered l)y any military organiza- 
tion in the United States since the close of the civil war. At the Columbian ses- 
sion, 1893, Seuator Hall was on the Committees of Banking, Canal and Inland 
Navigation, Congressional Apportionment, Judiciary General, Judiciary Special, 
Military Affairs, Accounts and Game and Fish. His most active legislative ex- 
perience was during the extraordinary session of 1891, called for the purpose of 
impeaching State Treasurer Boyer and Auditor General McCamant. During the 
trial the fine qualities he displayed as a leader in the fight for the minority and 
the masterful legal and parliamentary tactics displayed by him won him high 
encomiums. He proposed to decide the question of jurisdiction before proceed- 
ing to the trial, as he foresaw the tactics that were to be pursued on the part of 
the majority, but his talents were overmatched in the voting strength of tlie op- 
position. When the Senate, after the closing of the testimony, finally decided 
against its jurisdi.;tion, Senator Hall made one of the bitterest attacks upon the 
majority party that has ever been made in that body. Senator Hall is one of the 
popular aud genial members of the Senate, and is one of the leaders of the bar of 
western Pennsylvania. 



-1:2 



Tlic Senate. 




j: 



OHN H. BROWN, who was chosen 
.ill November, 189 J, to represent the 
Thirty -ninth district iu the State Sen- 
ate, was born in the county where he 
now resides on June 29, 1844. His 
lather was a merchant, and the boy re- 
ceived a sound education in the common 
schools, Harrison City Academy and 
Duff's College. Mr. Brown has been 
engaged as a merchant and in agricul- 
tural pursuits. He has held but one 
office aside from that which he now 
fills except postmaster for eighteen 
years and school director of Hempfield 
township, a position never filled by any 
other Republican. He was chairman 
of the Westmoreland County Republi- 
can Committee in 1891, when 500 ma- 
jority was secured for the ticket, though 
the previous year the county had given 
a Democratic majority of 1,500. Mr. 
Brown was elected Senator by a majority of twelve in a presidential year, receiving 
the largest vote ever given for a Republican in Westmoreland county. In the 
Legislature he has taken high rank because of the care and attention which he 
gives to all matters which come up for consideration. He is chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Compare Bills and a member of the Committees on Congressional Ap- 
portionment, Mines and Mining, Banks, Accounts and Agriculture. Senator 
Brown has introduced and championed several measures of far more than ordi- 
nary importance during the present session. His chief efforts, though, have been 
devoted to the enactment of a general road improvement law. Mr. Brown is 
thoroughly satisfied that the most vital need of the state and county is a better 
system of highways. To this end he has worked most earnestly since the Legisla- 
ture was called to order early in January. The bill of which he is the author and 
sponsor has Vjeen widely commented upon as affording a thoroughly practicable 
sohation of the vexed road problem. During the big discussion which it created 
iu committee rooms and on the floor, Mr. Brown has exhibited the utmost perse- 
verance and patience, qualities which have insured him the esteem and regard of 
his colleagues. 




The Senate. 



43 



MATTHIAS BRANT, of Greene 
county, who represents the For- 
tieth district, was born in Wayne town- 
shij), Greene county, December 29, 1828. 
He received his education in the public 
schools of that county and at Waynes- 
burg College. For sixteen successive 
years he taught school and for nine 
years served as school director, besides 
tilling various other townshi]) otiices. 
Mr. Brant served with credit as a mem- 
ber of the House of Representatives in 
1879 and 1881. He has taken an active 
part in local Democratic politics and has 
attended different state conventions as 
delegate. His interests in Greene county 
are varied and extensive, but his atten- 
tion has been particularly directed to 
the raising of tine stock. His experi- 
ences in that line dates back to 1860 
when he became a live stock dealer and 
shipper. Besides this he is iaterested largely in real estate and is known to have 
made some heavy deals. In 1890 he Avas elected to the Senate as a Democrat 
from the Fortieth district by a majority of 2,899 votes. The vote cast for the sev- 
eral candidates was as follows : Matthias Brant, 10,694 ; Joshua M. Dushane, 
7,779 ; Aaron Degood, 579. During the session of 1893 Mr. Brant served on the 
Committees on Agriculture, Education. New Counties and County Seats, Vice and 
Immorality and Public Buildings. He introduced during the session of 1893 a 
bill to prohibit the use of any adulteration or imitation of dairy products in any 
charitable or penal institution. Mr. Brant's father was a farmer and butcher and 
his son inherited from him his fondness for agricultural pursuits. He points with 
pride to the fact that his grandfather, Philip Longstreet, was captain of a com- 
pany in the revolutionary war from 1778 to its close and rendered services to his 
country of which his descendants have reason to be proud. 





44 



The Senate. 




U7ILLIAM BOLING MEREDITH, 
»* of the Forty-first district, was 
born in Kittanning, Armstroug county, 
September 13, 1839. His father, Jona- 
than E. Meredith, was a civil engineer 
and surveyor by profession, and was 
three times elected prothonotary of Arm- 
strong county on the Whig ticket while 
that county was strongly Democratic. He 
was also elected to the Senate of Pennsyl- 
vania in 18o9 from the district composed 
of the counties of Armstrong and Indi- 
ana. The subject of this sketch was edu- 
cated in the public schools of Kittanni ng, 
Elder's Ridge Academy, and Jefferson 
College, at Canonsburg, Washington 
county, Pa., graduating from the last 
named institution in August, 1860. Mr. 
Meredith was engaged in the oil busi- 
ness for a number of years and since 
that time has been engaged extensively 
in the water works business, being at present superintendent and treiisurer of the 
Armstrong Water Company and superintendent of the Butler and Warren Water 
Companies. Mr. Meredith served as assistant assessor of internal revenue for 
several years. He was a delegate to the Republican State Convention in 1878. 
He was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate from the Forty-first Senatorial district, 
composed of the counties of Armstrong and Butler, in 1884, for the term of four 
years and was re-elected from the same district in November, 1893. Senator 
Meredith is chairman of the Committee on Congressional Apportionment and is an 
active member of the Committees on Appropriations, Education, Federal Rela- 
tions and Vice and Immorality. Among the important bills he has introduced 
and championed during this session are the congressional apportionment ; Senate 
bill 107, an act to authorize certain school districts to establish, maintain and 
operate public high schools in boroughs not divided into wards for school purposes, 
and Senate bill 290, to amend the street railway act of May 14, 1889, so as to pro- 
vide that companies incorporated under that law may begin the circuit of the 
route, and change the original place of beginning the circuit of the route to any 
part of the incorporated route or its extension, provided no change is made 
in the incorporated route, to validate any such change heretofore made, to 
provide for the correction of errors in the naming of the streets and to vali- 
date such corrections. He also introduced the bill to enlarge the scope of the 
state banking department. Mr. Meredith has made an enviable record in tlie 
Senate and is held in high esteem both by his fellow Senators and his lellow citi- 
zens at home, his extensive private business having thoroughly qualified him for 
the able discharge of his public duties. 



The Senate. 



45 




J 



OHN N. NEEB, who represented the 
Forty-second senatorial district 
from the first Tuesday of January, 1891, 
until his death, February 19, 1893, was 
one of the most industrious and popular 
members of the Senate. He possessed 
the liigh esteem of liis colleagues, re- 
gardless o/ politics and the differ- 
ences of opinion entertained as to the 
merits of his legislation. Mr. Neeb was 
born March 19, 1851. in Allegheny. 
He was the son of William Neeb, one 
of the pioneer Germans of this state. 
John Neeb received his education in 
Mount Troy, near Allegheny city. He 
subsequently attended the public schools 
and passed through the junior year ot 
the Western University. In 1868, on 
his father's paper, the Freiheit's Freiind, 
he began a successful journalistic career. 
He soon assumed control of the edito- 
rial management, and won deserved distinction as a writer. The casting of his 
first ballot was followed by his election as a member of the Allegheny county Re- 
publican executive committee and active participation in Republican politics. 
Removing to Pittsburg in 1875, he was elected a member of common council from 
the Third ward for two terms. Before the expiration of the second term he be- 
came a resident of Allegheny city, and resigned his position. Governors Hart- 
ranft, Hoyt, Pattison and Beaver, in their turn, appointed him a member of the 
Morganza reformatory board. On June 3, 1890, he was nominated for state sena- 
tor in the Forty-second district, and in the following November elected by a large 
majority. He was a charter member of the Pittsburg Press club and became its 
first president, a position which he filled so acceptably that he was re-elected 
twice. He was also connected with the Young Men's Tariff" Club. 

At the time of his death Mr. Neeb was one of the proprietors of the FreiheWs 
Freiind, and he always displayed much interest in the success of the paper. He 
l)egan as a compositor on the journal and with signal success filled all the places 
to which he was assigned leading to its editorial control. Being unmarried, he 
lived with his father and mother on Stockton avenue, Allegheny. In the Senate 
Mr. Neeb gave his unremitting attention to the perfection of legislation in which 
liis constituents had a particular interest. He was not only pains-taking in its 
preparation, but never lost a point in advancing it on the calendars. Although 
physically broken down at the session of 1893, he never exhibited more industry 
in framing legislation, and no me4nber of the Senate watched the progress of leg- 
islation in which he was specially interested more clo.selyand intelligently than 
the late representative of the Forty-second senatorial district. 

On the evening of March 15, 1893, resolutions were submitted to the senate and, 
after appropriate remarks, unanimously adopted, referring to him as always genial, 
courteous and friendly, whose participation in legislative work was marked by in- 
telligence, integrity, energy, ability and an earnest desire to promote and protect 
the interests of his constituents and ot all the citizens of the commonwealth. 



46 



T'he Senate. 




W 



'ALTER LYON, who was elected 
last April to fill the vacancy- 
caused by the death of Senator Neeb, 
represents the Forty-second district. 
Mr. Lyon was born in Shaler town- 
ship, Allegheny county, April 27, 1853, 
and was educated in the public schools 
and privately. He was admitted to 
the bar in January, 1877, and has prose- 
cuted his legal business since. The 
law firm of which he is a member is 
known as that of Lyon, McKee & Sand- 
erson, the latter a former deputy attor- 
ney of Pennsylvania. Mr. Lyon was 
appointed United States District Attor- 
ney for the western district of Pennsyl- 
vania June, 1889, commissioned for four 
years from January 27, 1890, and re- 
fe, •« -?'^fi:^^^HB^^^^^^^^^ signed April 15 last to assume the 

1^; ^^^^^^hIBH^^Bk^SH duties of Senator. Mr. Lyon resides in 

Allegheny City and isa descendant of the 
Pennsylvania Lyon family, which left a very interesting history. He has never 
held any political office except that of Senator, for which office he was unanimously 
nominated, but has figured often in politics. ' He was a delegate to the state con- 
ventions of 1881, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889 and 1890, and was temporary 
chairman of the convention which nominated Judge Williams, of Tioga, for the 
supreme court bench, filled the same position when Mr. Harry Boyer was made 
the candidate of the Eepublican party for State Treasurer and was permanent 
chairman of the convention of 1890 which placed in nomination George W. Dela- 
mater for Governor. He served on these committees : Municipal Affairs, Vice 
and Immorality, Corporations, Constitutional Reform and Judiciary General. 




TJie Senate, 



47 




TOI 



rOHN UPPERMAN, who has rep- 
resented the Forty-tliird district, 
composed of part of the county of Alle- 
gheny, since 1881, is a native of the 
city of Pittsburg, where he was born. 
May 13, 1845. He received his educa- 
tion in the common schools and Shafer 
Business College, and then learned the 
tanner's trade. Subsequently he en- 
gaged in the livery business in Pitts- 
burg, and has since followed that occu- 
pation. 

Senator Uppermau's fir.st entrance 
into public life was in 1877, when he 
served a term in city councils of Pitts- 
burg. In 1880 he was elected to the 
Senate, and has been thrice re-elected — 
in 1884, 1888 and 1892. In 1883 Sen- 
ator Upperman served as chairman of 
the Committee on Municipal Corpora- 
tions, and for the past three sessions 
has held the responsible position of chairman of the Corporations Committee. 
The important character of the legislation passing through this committee renders 
the chairmanship an onerous and laborious place, and Senator Uj^ierman's dis- 
charge of his duties in connection therewith has been marked by a most careful 
and painstaking interest and attention. He is also a member of the (Jommittees 
of Appropriations, Education and Congressional and Legislative Apportionment. 

Senater Upperman seldom occupies the time of the Senate with debate, but, 
faithful in his attendance at every session, his knowledge of all pending measures 
gives weight to his words when he does take brief part in the discussions, and his 
vote is given as the result of careful consideration of the merits of every measure. 
His extended term of service has given him'a^large acquaintance among public 
men of all parties, and he is deservedly popular among those brought into im- 
mediate relation with him. 



48 



The Senate. 




W 



'ILLIAM FLINN. who represents 
the Fortj^-fourth district, con- 
sisting of a portion of Allegheny county, 
was born May 5, 1851, at Manchester, 
England. His father and mother were 
born in Ireland, emigrated to this 
country in the year of his birth and 
settled in Pittsburg. Senator Flinn re- 
ceived very few educational advantages 
in his youth, having been obliged to 
sever his connection with the school he 
attended when he was only nine years 
of age. The enviable reputation he has 
made among his fellows is due alone 
to his indomitable perseverance. He 
learned the trade of brush finisher and 
gas and steam fitter, and is one of the 
most extensive contractors in the state, 
and as such removed the debris which 
had accumulated at Johnstown after 
the terrible flood of 1889. Mr. Flinn 
has figured very conspicuously in the politics of Allegheny count}' and attended 
the national convention of his party in 1884, 1888 and 1892 as a delegate. He 
has served in a similar capacity at state conventions for the past ten years. He 
was elected a member of the House of Representatives in 1878, and served during 
the session of the following year. Prior to this event, in 1877, he was elected a 
member of the board of fire commissioners of Pittsburg, and served three years. 
In 1890 he was chosen to represent his district in the Senate for four years. At 
the session of 1893 he was made chairman of the Committee on Education, and 
was also placed on the Committees of Retrenchment and Reform, Municipal 
Affairs, Railroads, Legislative and Congressional Apportionment. 




'^^^ 



Tlie Senate. 



49 



SAMUEL S. STEEL, of Allegheny 
conuty, who represents the Forty- 
tifth district in the Senate, was born 
near Greencastle, Franklin county, 
April 20, 1837. He received a common 
school education and learned the trade 
of machine blacksmithiug, at which he 
worked until he entered the Union 
arm3^ After the close of the war he 
was for awhile engaged in the under- 
taking Inisiness and in raising dairy 
pioduce. lu 1884 he was elected to the 
Pennsylvania Senate, and has twice 
been re-elected, his present term expir- 
ing in l.Sf)6. Mr. Steel is one of the 
most popular men in the branch of the 
Legislature with which he has been con- 
nected the past ten years, and his con- 
stituents have been faithfully served by 
him. He has not occupied the time of 
the Senate in .speech-making except 
when occasion imperatively demanded, but he has doue good work in committee. He 
was the chairman of the Committee on Insurance in 1893 and served on the Com- 
mittees of Finance, Compare Bills, New Counties and County Seats, Pensions and 
Gratuities and Eetrenchment and Reform. Among the bills he introduced was 
one providing for the incorporation of tunnel companies intended to facilitate 
travel in the vicinity of Pittsburg. Mr. Steel is descended from Penn.sylvania 
ancestors, all of whom have been residents of the state covering a period of over 
one hundred and fifty years. On his paternal side he is descended from Rev. John 
Steel, of the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle. At the breaking out of the 
revolutionary war, John Steel was made captain of the first company raised in 
Carlisle for the defense of the colonies. At that time, among the members of his 
church, Avere Colonel Ephraim Blaine, grandfather of James G. Blaine, Colonel 
Irwin, Colonel Callander, General Armstrong and James Wilson, a signer of the 
Declaration of Independence, and General John Montgomery. On his maternal 
side he is descended from the Deitrichs and Stotlers, old German families of Frank- 
lin county, both of whom furnished officers and privates to the revolutionary war. 




50 



The Senate. 




W 



'ILLIAM BOYD DUNLAP was 
born atDarlingtou, Beaver count}', 
Pa. His parents were Samuel Ruther- 
ford and Nancy Hemphill Dunlap, both 
of whom were of Scotch-Irish descent 
and their ancestors came to this coun- 
try early in the eighteenth century and 
took their part in the stirring events of 
the times. The subject of this sketch 
was the second son and sixth child. He 
first attended a select, then the common 
schools, later the Darlington and Beaver 
Academies and graduated from Jefferson 
College in 1858, in the largest class that 
Institution ever graduated. The Hon. 
George A. Jenks was one of his class- 
mates and among his schoolmates were 
Chauncey F. Black and ex-Governor 
Beaver and many others since distin- 
guished at the bar and in the pulpit. 
When about sixteen years of age he was 
tendered the appointment to West Point by the late Hon. M. C. Trout, then mem- 
ber of Congress from his district, but his fixther intending him for the law, and 
acting under the advice of his brother-in-law, the late Judge Cunningham, refused 
his consent to the acceptance of this offer. Shattered health at the end of his col- 
legiate course forced him to abandon for a time his purpose to study law. When 
on a trip in the pursuit of health accident threw him in the way of a vacancy in 
the Scott Street public schools in Covington, Kentucky, and he accepted the offer 
and was for two years the principal of those schools. He had here for pupils 
Fred and " Buck " Grant, two sous of General U. S. Grant. The duties Avere not 
exacting, and a daily attendance at a gymnasium somewhat restored his health. 
But becoming satisfied that a freer out-door life was best suited to his constitution 
he embarked in the river business and was engaged in that pursuit until his elec- 
tion to the Senate in 1890. He has been a delegate to many State Democratic 
conventions. At the Reading convention of 1872 he was on the committee to 
select the delegates-at-large to the constitutional convention. At Erie, in 1875, he 
was on the famous Committee on Resolutions. He was a delegate to the conven- 
tion of 1876 that nominated Tilden and a candidate for elector on the Hancock 
ticket in 1880. He was a candidate for the State Senate in 1878 and was defeated 
by the Hon. George V. Lawrence by 150 majority. He was unanimously pre- 
sented by his county in 1890 for the nomination for Congress, and elected the same 
year to the State Senate. In the session of 1891 he was a member of the commit- 
tee that reported the law creating the Banking Department. He was also a mem- 
ber of the Finance Committee that had so long under consideration the famous 
Granger and Boj'er tax bills of that session. He was prominent in the debates on 
the Pittsburg wharf bills. At the session of 1893 he served on the Committees on 
Congressional Apportionment, Legislative Apiiortioument, Finance, Constitutional 
Reform, Municipal Affairs and Vice and Immorality. He introduced bills author- 
izing counties containing 50,000 inhabitants to erect workhouses, and extending 
the usage of the common pleas courts in selecting jurors to the court of quarter 
sessions. 



The Senate. 



51 




J 



AMES S. FRUIT. Senator from the 
Fortj^-seventh district, composed 
of tlie counties of Mercer and Lawrence, 
was born in Jefferson township, in the 
first-named county, on October 17, 1849. 
His father emigrated at an early age 
from eastern Pennsylvania and settled 
on the farm in Mercer county whereon 
Mr. Fruit was born. He was educated 
in the common schools, and at the age 
of tburteen left the farm and became a 
clerk in a store at Clarksville. He 
afterwards attended the Edinboro State 
Normal School. He followed mercan- 
tile pursuits at Wheatland and Hub- 
bard, Ohio, and then embarked in the 
hardware business at Sharon, Mercer 
county, where he soon built up a large 
trade, which he still continues. 

Senator Fruit cast his first vote for 
the Republican party, and has always 
been active in local and state politics. In 1884 he was a delegate to the Republi- 
can State Convention, and in ls86 was elected to the House of Representatives. 
Taking at once a prominent part in legislative matters, and especially in the im- 
portant work of the Appropriations Committee, he made so favorable a record that' 
his constituteuts, breaking a hitherto almost invariable rule, re-elected him in 
1888 and 1890. In the session of 1891 he was made chairman of the Appropri- 
ations Committee. In that year an attempt was made to increase the state ap- 
propriations for commom schools. As reported from committee, the General 
Appropriation bill increased the annual grant to the schools from $2,000,000 to 
83,000,000. Mr. Fruit's knowledge of the state's finances, obtained through his 
labors on the Appropriation Committee, satisfied him that an even greater increase 
could safely be made, and he ofiered an amendment in the House raising the sura 
to §5,000,000 per annum, and succeeded in having his proposition adopted. No 
measure more popular with the general public was ever placed on the statute 
books, and Mr. Fruit's efforts in its behalf added to his strength with his con- 
stituents. In addition to this measure the several appropriation bills coming be- 
fore his committee were so carefully and prudently considered that, for the first 
time, possibly, in the history of the Legislature, every one favorably reported 
passed both Houses. 

In 189-2 Mr. Fruit was nominated f.)r Senator by the Republicans of Mercer 
county, and subsequently by the district conference. The strongest Democrat in 
the district, a man with a brilliant war record and who had once carried the Re- 
publican county of Lawrence, was pitted against him for election, but Mr. Fruit 
came off victor with a handsome majority. He is chairman of the Library Com- 
mittee and a member of the Appropriations, Congressional Apportionment, Con- 
stitutional Reform and Public Health and Sanitation Committees. Senator Fruit's 
previous experience in the Hou.se stands him in good stead in liis new sphere of 
duty, and from the first he has taken an active part in the business of the Senate. 



52 



The Senate. 




W 



ILLIAM KEID CRAWFORD, who 
represents the Venango- Warren 
district in the State Senate, Avas born in 
Perry township. Armstrong county, Pa., 
on June 28, 1827. His parents, Eben- 
ezer and Janette Crawford, were early 
settlers in northwestern Pennsylvania 
and reared a large family. Alexander 
Grant, his maternal grandfather, built 
the tirst stone house in Lancaster county, 
afterwards removed to Butler county 
and finally located in Armstrong county, 
where he died sixty jears ago. William 
R. was brought up at the old homestead 
and received such education as the 
.schools in the neighborhood could be- 
stow. He followed farming until 1854, 
when, with four of his brothers, he went 
to California and spent some time in the 
gold mines. Upon his return he de- 
cided to remove to the southern part of 
Venango county and occupied a tarm in Scrubgrass township. Members of this 
branch 'of the Crawfords have been prominent residents of that section from the very 
beginning of its history. After living in Scrubgrass eight years Mr. Crawford, who 
bad been a successful agriculturist, removed to Franklin, the county seat of 
Venango, in March of 1865, and engaged actively in the i^roductlon of petroleum. 
He operated quite extensively in different portions of the oil regions for over 
twenty years, enjoying a high reputation for enterprise and integrity. So great 
was his popularity that he was elected twice to the council, served three times as 
mayor and was long president of the school board of Franklin. In November, 
1887, he was elected sheriff of Venango county by a heavy majority, although 
pitted against the strongest candidate the Democratic party could have selected. 
At the end of his term as sherift', an office which he filled with signal ability and 
skill, he was chosen State Senator from the Forty-eighth district, the position he 
now holds. His public career has been distinguished by untiring fidelity to the 
Interests of the people and uncompromising hostility to whatever he believed to 
lie opposed to the general welfare. In committee work he has been especially 
efficient, always punctual in his attendance and never in s\'mpathy with anything 
that savored of corruption or jobbery. While a zealous Republican in politics, he 
lias gained the esteem of all parties by his love of fairness, his admirable devotion 
to justice and his unswerving adhesion to manly principle. Mr. Crawford was 
married May 15, 1851, to Jane, daughter of Thomas and Isabella (Craig) Kerr, a 
pioneer family of Scrubgrass township, where Mrs. Crawford was born. Seven 
children were the fruits of this union. Four of these survive — Zelia E,, wife of 
John E. Gill, superintendent of the Galena Oil Works at Franklin ; Jessie Benton, 
wife of Robert McCalmont, attorney, Franklin ; John K., attorney, and Jennie 
June. In person Senator Crawford is tall and .slender and looks much younger 
than his real age. Genial in manner, generous to a fault, the friend of humanity 
and benefactor to the poor, no man stands better in the estimation of the masses 
or more deserving of their confidence and respect. 



The Senate. 



5a 




D 



AVID B. McCKEARY, of the 
Forty-ninth district, was born 
on February 27, 1826, in Millcreek 
township, Erie county, Pa., of Scotch- 
Irish parentage. His father was a 
farmer, who emigrated from Lancaster 
county, Pa., to Erie county in 1800. 
His mother, wliose maiden name was 
Lj'dia 8wan, came from Dauphin 
county about the same time. Gen- 
eral McCreary was educated in the 
common schools, Erie Academy and 
Washington College, at Washington, 
I'a., attending the last-named institution' 
during the years 1848 and 1849. For 
some years he followed school teach- 
ing in Erie county and in Kentucky. 
Later on he studied law, was admitted 
to the bar and has since been a prac- 
ticing attorney. At the beginning of 
the War of the Rebellion he went out 
as first lieutenant of the Erie regiment, three months' troops. Afterwards he en- 
listed in the One Hundred and Forty-fifth regiment Pennsylvania volunteers, for 
three years' service, entering as lieutenant-colonel. He was promoted to colonel, 
and when mustered out was Inevetted brigdier general for gallant service. General 
McCreary was a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1866 and 1867. Adjutant 
General of Pennsylvania 1867 to 1870. Again elected a member of the Legislature 
in 1870. Elected State Senator from Erie county in 1888 and re-elected 1892. He 
was a delegate to the Republican State Convention in 1882, which nominated 
General James A. Beaver for Governor. He has been a trustee of Dixmout Asylum 
for the Insane, on behalf of the state, for six years, and is a state trustee of Edin- 
boro Normal Scliool. General McCreary was chairman of the General Judiciary 
Committee during the session of 1891, and was again assigned this important 
chairmanship for the session of 1893. He is also a member of the Special Judi- 
ciary, Insurance, Mines and Mining, Congressional Apportionment and Millitary 
Affairs Committees. He introduced during the Columbian session several bills 
relative to judicial procedure, among them relating to secret marriages ; extend- 
ing jurisdiction in cases of divorce ; submitting certain cases of fact in equity 
cases to the jury, and relative to the appointment of master in equity cases. 







64 



The Senate. 




SAMUEL JAMES LOGAN, of Craw- 
ford county (the Fiftieth and last 
Senatorial district), was born in south 
Shenango township of the county he 
represents, in 1838. His father was a 
farmer and stock raiser, and came of 
Scotch-Irish ancestry. His forefathers 
emigrated to this country' from County 
Tj'rone, Ireland, in 1792,settled in Craw- 
ford county in 1798, and took part in 
tlie war of 1812. Young Logan was 
educated in the common schools and 
spent three years in the Hai'tstown 
Academy. Since then he has been 
mainly engaged in agricultural pursuits 
and at present resides oh a farm. He 
has been elected to all the township 
offices, including that of justice of the 
peace. He was a delegate to the Dem- 
ocratic State Convention at Lancaster 
in 1875 and that at Erie in 1876. He 
was chosen to the House of Representatives in 1874, and served in the sessions 
of 1875 and 1876. He was then a member of several important committees. 
Mr. Logan was elected to the State Senate in 1890 by a majority of 777 
over W. H. Andrews, then chairman of the Republican State Committee. The 
county of Crawford had formerly given 2,200 Republican majority. Senator 
Logan is a member of the Committees on Appropriations, Finance, Agriculture, 
Constitutional Reform, Banks, Public Printing, Public Buildings and Retrench- 
ment and Reform. Mr. Logan is author of a large number of important measures 
which have been under consideration during the present session. Among them is 
a bill for the erection of election houses in townships, boroughs and wards, and 
for the re-establishing of lost and uncertain boundary lines. A proposition that 
has created wide discussion is one for the establishment of co-operative banking 
institutions. This idea has found an earnest and able champion in Senator Logan. 
He is also author of bills changing the plan of electing members of the State 
Board of Agriculture, for a new method of distributing the state appropriation to 
the public schools, reimbursing Titusville for damages caused by the flood of 1892, 
and making appropriations to various Crawford county institutions. While a 
member of the House in 1875 and 1876, he secured the enactment of laws for 
water-troughs on public highways and for the bonding of sheriffs gi-aded according 
to the population of the counties. This was the first session under the new Con- 
stitution. 



Officers of the Senate. 



55 




EDWIN WILSON SMILEY was born 
in Franklin, Venango county, Pa., 
September 12, 184(), and is the third son 
and fifth child of John H. and Nancy 
Smiley, grandson of Thomas Smiley, a 
pioneer in the settlement of Venango 
county, and a soldier of the war of 1812. 
His ancestors were of Scotch-Irish de- 
scent, and came to this country and 
settled in central Pennsylvania as early 
as 17;i0. He was educated in the com- 
mon schools and in the old Franklin 
Academy, trom which he graduated in 
his fourteenth year, and in the fall of 
1859 entered the ftY/zen printing office 
at Franklin as an apprentice. Since 
that time, with the exception of three 
years, he has been connected with the 
newspaper, as apprentice, compositor, 
foreman, editor and publisher. In 1863, 
on the first day of July, he enlisted in 
company E. Fifty-eighth regiment Pennsylvania State troops, Colonel George H. 
Bemus commanding, for a period of three months, and served in the Deijartment 
of the Monongahela, composed of the States of Ppnnsylvahia, Ohio and West Vir- 
ginia, until regularly mustered out of the service with the regiment. On April 1, 

1869, he was engaged by a company owning the BepuhUcan at Tionesta, Forest 
county, to edit and publish that paper, which he did successfully. On April 1, 

1870, he returned to Franklin, purchased the Citizen newspaper and job printing 
establishment and has edited that paper since that date. As the editor of a Re- 
pul)lican partisan newspaper it was a natural result that Mr. Smiley should be 
greatly interested in politics, and he has taken an active part in every political 
campaign during the last twenty years, being distinguished as a "stalwart " Re- 
publican because of his devotion to the jirinciples of his party and the vigorous 
efforts put forth by him for the success of its candidates. In 1872 he was elected 
a delegate to the Republican State Convention, and was also elected delegate in 
the years 1873, 1874, 1876 and 1879. In 1876 he served as delegate to the Repub- 
lican National Convention at Cincinnati. He was elected chairman of the Repub- 
lican committee of Venango county in 1875, and served in that capacity, almo.st 
continuouslj', for nine terms. In 1888 he was nominated, after a vigorous contest, 
by a large majority, as the choice of the Republicans of Venango county for Con- 
gress in the Twenty-seventh district, composed of the counties of Cameron, Mc- 
Kean, Venango and Warren, Imt failed to win the nomination in the district. In 
1876 he was elected Reading Clerk of the State Senate and held that position until 
1881. In 1883 he was elected Journal Clerk of the Senate and performed the 
duties of that office until 1891, when he was elected Chief Clerk and re-elected in 
1893. In May, 1886, E. W. Smiley and Mary Jane, daughter of James and 
Nancy Kilgore, were united in marriage. They liave three children, John How- 
ard, Rali)li Allen and Jessie Gertrude. Mr. Smiley is distinguished as a i)arlia- 
mentarian, and recognized as an authority on all matters pertaining to legislation. 
As a newspaper writer he is logical and forcible, especially on political subjects. 
His untiring industry and devotion to duty, together with his conceded ability, 
commend him to ])ublic favor, as is attested by his long-continued service in the 
Senate of Pennsylvania. 



56 



Officers of the Senate. 




TAMES MONROE CARSON was bom 
J in 



North Beaver township, Lawrence 
county, Pa., Nov. 11, 1857. His lather, 
William Carson, and his mother, whose 
maiden name was Prudence Calvin, were 
of Scotch-Irish descent and both natives 
of Lrawence county. His paternal great- 
grandfather was a native of Ireland, 
but coming to America prior to the 
beginning of the war of the Revolution, 
he espoused the cause of the colonists 
and served with them as a soldier in 
their struggles for nationality and in- 
dependence. After peace was declared 
he married Rachel Wilson, of the State 
of Delaware, and located in Virginia, 
where he remained until I'QQ, when 
he settled within the limits of the 
present county of Lawrence. His ma- 
ternal ancestors emigrated from Scot- 
laud at the close of the eighteenth cen- 
tury and settled in Western Pennsylvania. The subject of this sketch removed 
with his parents, in November, 1868, to Marion township, Butler county. Pa., and 
spent his youth on his father's .farm. He received his education in the public 
schools and from private tutors. In 1873 he entered the office of the Butler 
Eagle as an apprentice to the printing trade, serving the full novitiate term of 
three years ; afterwards worked at his trade in Sharon and Sandy Lake. In 1881 
he purchased an interest in the Butler Eagle, on which paper he learned his trade, 
and entered into partnership with Mr. Eli D. Robinson, with whom he has since 
been associated in the conduct of the paper and its business. Mr. Carson is a 
Republican and has always taken an active interest in the success of the princi- 
ples and candidates of his party ; was secretary of the Republican County Com- 
mittee in the Presidential campaign of 1888, and has served on other important 
party committees and conferences. He received the unanimous endorsement of 
his county for State Senator in 1892, but Armstrong county being entitled to the 
district nomination under the system of rotation observed by the counties com- 
posing the district, the nomination was conceded to Armstrong county's candidate 
without a contest. Mr. Carson was elected Reading Clerk of the Senate of Penn- 
sylvania in 1891, serving during the regular and extraordinary' sessions of that 
year, and was re-elected in 1893 for the term of two years. He was married in 
1882 to Miss Letitia Donaldson, and three little daughters grace their home, viz : 
Luella, Bessie Prudence and Bertha INIay. Mr. Carson as a newspaper editor and 
publisher combines vigor and terseness as a writer with good business ability. 
As Reading Clerk of the Senate he has performed the important duties of the 
position to the entire satisfaction of that body, his reading being rapid and at the 
same time distinctly audible in all parts of the Senate Chamber. He is an ear- 
nest, conscientious worker, and his genial, courteous manner has made him a 
favorite with all those with whom he has come in contact. 



Officers of the Senate. 



57 




J 



AMES LAWRENCE BROWN, Jour- 
nal Clerk of the Senate during the 
session of 1893, succeeded in that posi- 
tion Hon. Anthony F. Bannon, elected 
a member of the Senate. He was born 
in PhihKlelphia on September 17, 1840. 
His father, who was a merchant, though 
himself a native of Philadeliihia, was of 
Scottish descent, while his mother 
claimed England as the home of her 
ancestors. Until he was fifteen years 
old Mr. Brown attended the Ringgold 
Grammar School, Philadelphia, receiv- 
ing the instruction which completed his 
education at the Arcadian Institute, 
Orwigsburg. Becoming tired of school 
life he went into business with his 
father and gradually found himself be- 
ing drawn into politics. He was ap- 
pointed lieutenant of police of the 
Seventeenth district by Mayor Stokley 
and held that position until, on June 1. 1881, he was appointed magistrate of 
court No. 2 by Governor Hoj't to fill the vaucany caused by the death of Henry 
Eberly. Mr. Brown's work on the bench was so satisfactory that at the expiration 
of the term for which he was appointed he was nominated by the Republican 
party and elected by a majority of 535 votes for the full term of five years. In 
1887 he was re-elected by the largest majority of any magistrate in the city, it 
running close to 37,000. During his earlier life he filled the position of water 
purveyor of the First district to which he was appointed by chief engineer of the 
water department, William ISIcFadden. He has alwaj^s taken great interest in 
se(!ret societies and their work and is well known in Philadelphia as a member of 
such organizations, among them being the Melita lodge No. 295 of the order of 
Masons, Knights of Birmingham No. 1, Spring Garden lodge A. O. U. M. and 
Corinthian lodge No. 9, Order of Sparta. Mr. Brown is also a member of the 
Union Republican club. He is very quiet, uno-stentatious in his manner but a 
genial, courteous member of the Senate force and a hard worker. On June 21, 
1858, Mr. Brown married Susannah Newsom and is the father of seven children, 
four of whom are living:. 




'i^^c^*- 



58 



Officers of the Senate. 




HERMAN P. MILLER, Senate Libra- 
rian, was born on his grandfather's 
farm in Fairview township, York coun- 
ty. Pa., Dec. 15, 1863. When two years 
of age his parents removed to Harris- 
burg. His education, which was limited, 
owing to the early death of his father, 
was received in the public schools of 
his adopted cMy. His political career 
began in 1876, when, at the request of 
Hon. J. D. Cameron, he was appointed 
to succeed an elder brother as a page 
in the Senate of Penn.sylvania. Mr. 
Miller was reappointed each succeed- 
ing session until 1879, when he was 
taken into the office of the Senate 
Librarian, J. C. Delaney, as an assist- 
ant. He continued in this position 
until July 1, 1890, when, upon the 
resignation of Mr. Delaney, he was -ap- 
pointed Librarian by the late Hon. Rus- 
sell Errett, then Chief Clerk. At the opening of the session of 1891 he was re- 
appointed by Chief Clerk E. W. Smiley for the term of two years, and again ap- 
pointed January, 1893. Since 1887 he has annually assisted the compiler, Thomas 
B. Cochran, in the compilation of "SmuU's Hand Book." 




"> • 



Officers of the Senate. 



59 



WC. RODGERS, Message Clerk of 
• the Senate, was born at Corsica, 
Jefl'ersou county, Pa., April 2, 1853. 
The rest of the story of his life is thus 
told by himself: " By the kind inter- 
vention of an All-Wise Providence I 
was thus saved the ignominy of being 
born on All Fool's Day. I was edu- 
cated in the common schools until the 
age of fifteen. At seventeen I was 
taken from the farm (where I had been 
bound out) to the academy at Elder's 
Ridge, Indiana county, to have the 
finishing touches placed ujion an already 
magnificent education. I failed to place 
myself in touch with the faculty, how- 
ever, and the scheme was not success- 
ful. I was then bound out to the pro- 
prietors of the Brookdlle Republican for 
three years, but long before the time 
had expired the proprietors aforesaid 
were only too glad to let loose of me. I have been engaged in selling dry goods, 
notions, groceries, leasing lands for oil and gas purposes and building oil and gas 
lines ; I have also engaged (disastrously) in skating rinks, fruit trees, patent 
washing machines, chemical erasers, subscription books, silverware and albums 
on the installment plan ; sold pools and refereed prize-fights and boat races. Was 
not a soldier in the war of 1812 nor in the late serious unpleasantness with the 
southern states. I did not discover America, New Jersey or the Mississippi River. 
Was never elected to the United States Senate nor to the Legislature of Pennsyl- 
vania. I have never been elected or appointed to the offices of State or county 
treasurer, sheriff, prothonotarj', commissioner, auditor or jury commissioner. 
I have never edited a newsijaper, sold liquors by wholesale or been a vice-presi- 
dent of a Democratic County Convention. I have never been a director in any 
banking institution nor a secretary of a town council. I have never been nor 
never will be in the ' hands of my friends ' with a nomination for office in the 
dim and misty distance." Tom Reed, when asked by one of his constituents, 
"What is a statesman?" replied, "a politician who is dead." So I may some 
day be great without having to use a lead pencil in my own behalf. 




1k^ 



60 



Officers of the Senate. 




J' 



[OHN H. MYERS, the Sergeant-at- 
Arras of the Senate, was born in 
Bainbridge, Lancaster county, Decem- 
ber 27, 1859, and he has never changed 
his residence. He has actively parti- 
cipated in politics of that county ever 
since he attained his majority, and be- 
fore he had a vote took an interest iu 
the lively political contests for which 
Lancaster county has been noted. He 
received his education in the schools 
of Bainbridge. but when only fourteen 
years old di'opped his studies and began 
clerking in stores. After a few years 
(if this kind of work he entered the 
ticket and freight office of the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad Company, whose agent 
was AV'intield S. Smith, remaining in 
that .service several years. He subse- 
quently traveled as a salesman for a 
Philadelphia tirm. Finally he entered 
the bottling business, in which he has made a widely-extended reputation. He 
has one of the best establishments in the state, and the soft drinks he manufac- 
tures have won a popularity second to none in Pennsylvania. He has been en- 
gaged in the bottling business for thirteen years, and, outside of taking a little 
political spurt occasionally, he will likely adhere to it. Mr. Myers was Tran- 
scribing Clerk of the Senate at the regular and special sessions of 1891, and at the 
request of his numerous friends from Lancaster was selected Sergeant-at-Arms at 
this session. His present position, as well as that of Transcribing Clerk, he 
filled with ability. He lias been a member of the Republican State Committee 
and has represented his party in minor positions of honor iu Lancaster county. 



Officers of the Senak. 



61 




117 H. DUNBAR, D. D., Chaplain 



of the Senate, of Lebanon, Pa., 
was born January 25, 1852, in North- 
ampton county. Pa. He is of Scotch 
ancestry on the father's side and of 
German on the mother's. His early 
years were spent iu farm work and in 
attending the village school. He pri- 
vately prepared for college and after a 
full course graduated from Pennsylva- 
nia College, Gettysburg, in the class of 
1871 and from the Theological Seminary 
of the General Synod of the Lutheran 
Church in 1874. He was admitted to the 
ministry in 1873 at Germantown, Pa., 
and received the degree of D. D. from his 
Alma Mater in 1892. He was pastor of 
St. Peter's Lutheran church, at Easton, 
Pa., from 1874 to 1880, which congrega- 
tion he organized. He has been pastor 
of Zion Lutheran church at Lebanon, 
Pa., since 1880. His present congregation numbers nearly 600 members with a 
Sunday-school of nearly 800. He was president of the East Pennsylvania Synod 
of the Lutheran Church for three years, and has been elected a delegate to the 
General Synod several times and is a delegate-elect to the next convention of that 
Body to be held in Canton, Ohio, in May. 1893. He is President of the Board of 
Trustees and chairman of the Executive Committee of the Tres.sler Orphans' Home 
at Loysville, Pa. Is a member of the Lutheran Board of Publication at Philadel- 
phia, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Pennsylvania College at Gettys- 
burg. Rev. Dunbar is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Pennsyl- 
vania Chautauqua, and has been elected a member of the advisory council on Re- 
ligious Congresses of the World's Congress Auxiliary in connection with the 
World's Columbian Exposition, and a member of the Committee on a General 
Synod Lutheran Congress. He has been appointed to make one of the addresses 
at the Lutheran Congress and is one of the most eloquent preachers in the State. 
Mr. Dunbar was married in 1880 to Miss Jennie Chamberlain, of Easton, Pa. 






HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



OF 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



House of Representatives. 



65 



GEORGE A. VARE, of Philadelphia, 
for two sessions has represented the 
First ward in the lower house. He 
has the distinction of being one of the 
youngest members ever sent to the 
Legislature from Philadelphia. He was 
born iu the old historic district of 
Southwark on February 7, 1859, but 
subsequently took up his residence in 
the First ward, where he began to take 
an active interest in politics from the 
time he cast his first vote. Mr. Vare's 
education was obtained in the public 
schools. His family has long been 
identified with public contracts in 
Philadelphia, and, associated with his 
brothers, they haAe for several j'ears 
Ijeen the successful contractors for the 
cleaning of the streets, the contracts 
running into the hundreds of thousands 
of dollars annually. He has been a 
member of the Republican Ward Committee for a number of years, and is also an 
active .spirit in the Union Republican Club of his ward, which is known as one of 
the political institutions of down town. Mr. Yare has been selected as a candi- 
date for the Legislature solely by reason of his popularity with the young men, he 
being a concession partially to that element and for the political strength he rep- 
resentetl. Mr. Vare has served his party as a delegate to city and ward con- 
ventions, has been a liberal contributor to the finances, and has never held a 
Federal place, although he has been in a position to command it. He is known 
as one of the most trusted and tireless lieutenants of Amos M. Slack, the Republi- 
can leader of the First ward. 







66 



House of Representatives. 



ADOLPH BEYERLEIN, Jr., has rep- 
resented for two years the First 
district of Philadelphia iu the House. 
Tliis district comprises the First ward 
and is one of the most populous in that 
city. He was born in the Quaker City 
July 16, 1856, of German parentage. 
Throughout his youth he attended the 
public schools, going through several of 
the grades. He adopted the business of 
a milk dealer as his life's vocation and 
has succeeded in building up one of the 
largest businesses in that line iu the 
the southern section of the city. Mr. 
Beyerlein is not a "talking member" 
of the Legislature, but is attentive in 
his attendance upon the sessions of the 
House and his committee assignments. 
He has long been active in the Repub- 
lican politics of the First ward and was 
chosen by his leader as a candidate for 
the Legislature tor the reason of his popularity and his claim for active service 
upon the party. The competition for place in so large a ward as the First is 
naturally fierce and it is a great compliment to Mr. Beyerlein that he should have 
been chosen by the party leaders twice to fill a place on the legislative ticket. 
He is an active member of the Union Republican Club of the First ward. His 
popularity among the younger element of his party is somewhat remarkable as his 
vote on both occasions, both in the nominating conventions and at the polls, has 
attested. He has never been an applicant for a Federal place, his private business 
being such as to render him independent of such. He is a leading member of the 
Milk Exchange of Philadelphia. 




House of Representatives. 



♦37 




HARRY C. RANSLEY, of Philadel- 
phia, representing the Second ward, 
is one of those rare instances of a man 
who sits in the Legislature of Pennsyl- 
vania who has been sent there for two 
consecutive terms from an antagonistic 
rock-ribbed district. Mr. Ranslej' was 
born on tlie 5th day of February, 1868, 
in the ward which he represents, and 
consequently he is one of the youngest 
men who was ever elected to the Penn- 
sylvania Legislature. His education 
was derived in the public and private 
schools and when attaining his majority 
he identified himself with his father in 
the manufacture of gold leaf. In 1890 
Mr. Ransley was chosen by the Repub- 
lican minority in the Second ward to 
lead a forlorn hope for his party as a 
candidate for the Legislature in a 
gubernatorial year. He Avas matched 
against George McGowen, the recognized leader of the Democracy of his district 
and a former member of the House. Mr. Ransley's election created a surprise in 
political circles throughout the commonwealth, his victory by 375 majority over 
a city and state leader of the reputation of Mr. McGowen being considered a note- 
worthy event. Mr. Ransley was brought out as a candidate for the State Senate 
in the First district and loomed up as a formidable competitor for the nomination. 
Events so shaped themselves, how'ever, as to require his withdrawal when he was 
re-nominated for the lower house. His popularity was submitted to the strain of 
a presidential year and, notwithstanding an unprecedented Democratic vote was 
thiown, Mr. Ransley's majority was increased over his former election, he having 
538 majority. Mr. Ransley is a splendid type of the young Republicans who are 
advancing to the front in the politics of Philadelphia. His loyalty to his friends, 
his geniality in the social side of life and the popular side he has invariably taken 
on questions effecting great public questions, are strong points in his individuality. 






68 



House of Representatives. 



ALPHONSE RICHARDSON, of Phila- 
delphia, belongs to the galaxy of 
3'onng men in the Quaker City delega- 
tion which has made the delegation in 
the House of 1893 remarkable in that 
respect. He is a native of Philadel- 
phia, having been born in the old and 
historic district of Southwark on the 
23d day of December, 1863. He passed 
through the different grades of the 
public schools, after which he entered 
mercantile pursuits. Mr. Richardson 
has been actively a Republican since 
he first became a voter, and living in a 
strong and natural Democratic ward he 
has stood up manfully for his party, his 
services rendering him so conspicuous 
as to make him the candidate for the 
Legislature in 1892. Mr. Richardson 
for the last dozen years has been a dele- 
gate to the city conventions of the Re- 
publican party, and is one of the confidential group of leaders which has out- 
lined the party policy of the ward. When the Harrison administration came into 
power and his party secured control of the mint, Mr. Richardson was one of the 
first Republicans of the city to be selected for a place in that institution. In the 
Legislature of 1893 Mr. Richardson was cast upon a number of important com- 
mittees, including Mines and Mining, Public Buildings, Congressional Apportion- 
ment and Banks. 




■9- xiMII^— 






— "JIIMJB" -d- 



House of Representatives. 



m 




OBERT J. MOORE, of the Fourth 



ROBERT 
district, 



June 20, 1858, and was educated in the 
l>ublic schools. He learned the trade 
of printing, and was for a long time a 
member of Typographical Union No. 2, 
from which organization he was a dele- 
gate to the meeting ol the International 
Typographical Union, held in June, 
1886, at Pittsburg. He worked at his 
trade until he was appointed an auditor 
in the office of the city controller 
of Philadelphia, September 21, 1891. 
Mr. Moore retained this position until 
his election, in 1892, to the Legi.slature 
from the Fourth Legislative district, 
which comprises the Fourth ward, a 
Democratic stronghold in Philadelphia. 
Through the active efforts of himself 
and friends Mr. Moore succeeded in de- 
feating John Donohue, one of the most 
prominent Democrats in the district, and who represented the district in the 
Legislature for many years. The vote for member from the district was as fol- 
lows : Moore, 1,615 ; Donohue, 638 ; Robbins, the nominee of the County Demo- 
cracy, 528, Mr. Moore receiving a majority of 451 votes over both his opponents. 

Mr. Moore has taken an active part in iiolitics since he became of age. Prior to 
his election to the Legislature he was elected a member of the sectional school 
board in 1889. He was a member of the State Republican Conventions in 1891 
and 1892. He is a member of the Republican City Campaign Committee, and has 
always had the unanimous support of the Republicans of the Fourth district for 
any position for which he had been a candidate. He is one of the most active 
members of the House, and is serving on the most important committees. He 
takes great interest in all legislation pertaining to Philadelphia, and is always on 
the alert when the interests of his constituents are at stake. 




70 



House of Representatives. 




J 



ACOB DAVID SCHICK. Represeutu- 
tive of the Fifth Philadelpliia dis- 
trict, was born in that city thirty-six 
years ago. He lia.s long been one of the 
most influential district leaders of the 
city, and his power as a Repu])lican 
politician in the Fifth ward is steadily 
growing. His father, David Schick, 
was a piano manufacturer. The family 
were of German descent, and their thrift 
gained them a competency. The em- 
bryo legislator and sagacious counsellor 
in the city and ward organizations of 
his party was educated in the public 
schools of his native city, but, at the 
age of sixteen, went out to begin his 
successful business and political career. 

H*^ '^^^5^^^^^B He became an ice dealer and, while the 
' [jjff^ WKKllBk o^vner of the business of the Franklin 
'i^S^' ^^ ^WW Ice Company, also conducted a grocery 

store for about six years. For the last 
five years he has been in the real estate business. He was a constable of the 
Fifth ward for seven years, and resigned that position when elected to the House 
of Representatives of 1891. He was re-elected to the present House by 2,117 votes 
against only 803 cast for his Democratic opponent, Daniel McCauly. The nomi- 
nating and other conventions in which Mr. Schick has figured prominently as a 
delegate would make a long'list. He has been a member of the Republican State 
Committee for six years. Among the House Committees of which he is a member 
are those on Labor and Industry, Manufactures, Public Buildings and Geological 
Survey. His vigorous physical constitution is needed for his untiring application 
to work in the interest of his constituents. His invariable geniality and fidelity 
to friends account for his popularity. 




House of Rejjresentalive.s. 



71 




JOHN CRUISE, of the Sixth district, 
was born in Philadelpliia March 4, 
1855. He was educated in the public 
schools in that city. In 1874 he ob- 
tained a position in a lumber yard and 
has since been engaged in that business. 
He was elected a member of the House 
of Representatives November, 1891, to 
fill the unexpired term of James Frank- 
lin, resigned. He was re-elected for 
full term November, 1892. 




72 



House of Represerdatwes. 







HENRY K. BOYER, the Representa- 
tive from the Seventh district, 
I'hiladelphia, was born in Evansburg, 
Montgomery county, Pa., Februar3' 19, 
1850, and received his education in the 
common schools of his native town and 
in theFreeland Seminary (now Ursinus 
College) of wliich institution he is now 
one of the directors. Ui)on leaving that 
institution Mr. Boyer became a school 
teacher, which profession he followed for 
six years, during part of which he was 
principal of the Kaighn's Point Gram- 
mar School, Camden, N. J. He resigned 
his position and adopted law as his 
permanent profession, and entered the 
office of the late ex-Attorney General 
Benjamin Harris Brewster, with whom 
he read law. He was admitted to the 
Philadelphia bar in November, 1873, 
and since then he has followed the 
practice of his profession, it being a general civil practice, the occasions upon 
which he has consented to appear in the criminal courts being exceedingly rare. 
His practice includes considerable of the business transactions of a mercantile 
character and relating to real estate, and while they have been frequently of great 
importance they possess no element of public interest. Mr. Boyer is an able and 
warm exponent of the doctrines of the Republican party, but did not enter active 
ix>litics until 1882. In the fall of that year he was elected upon the Republican 
ticket a member of the House of Representatives to represent the Seventh district 
of Philadelphia by a handsome majority. His work in the House was so satis- 
factory that his constituents re-elected him, by an increased majority, in 1884. and 
again in 1886. At the nominating convention in 1888 he was unanimously en- 
dorsed for another term, to which he was elected without trouble. In 1887 he 
was elected Speaker of the House by the Republicans, and filled the trying and 
responsible position with great ability and impartiality. Mr. Boyer's political 
career has been as clean and prominent as his work at the bar has been snccessful 
and brilliant. In 1889 he was re-elected Speaker. On both occasions he received 
the unanimous vote of his party, both in caucus and in the House. In 1889 his 
election was made unanimous, the first instance of the kind in this State. In 1889 
he was unanimously nominated for the office of State Treasurer, and received a 
majority at the polls of 60,926, though an "off year," and that the only State 
office to be filled. He is the author of the revenue act of 1891, which passed by 
a handsome majority in each House Avithout the necessity of a conference com- 
mittee. In 1892 Mr. Boyer was re-elected to the Legislature. He is chairman of 
the Ways and Means Committee, a member of the Rules Committee, the Judiciary 
General and other important committees, He is a ready debater, logical talker 
and a parliamentarian with few equals in the State. 



House of Representatives. 



78 




j; 



[OHN M. SCOTT, of I'liiladelpliia, 
was born in that city on September 
19, 1858. The first of his ancestors to 
emigrate to this country was the third 
son of John Scott, of Ancrum, county of 
Koxburg, Scotland, who reached here 
about 1700, and received the rights of 
citizenship of the city of New York in 
1702. He was afterward the command- 
ant of Fort Hunter, on the river Mo- 
hawk, in the present county of Scho- 
harie. The eldest of his children was 
also named John Scott and died in 1733, 
leaving one child, John Morin Scott, an 
eloquent and able lawyer of New York. 
He was a member of the old Congress of 
the United States. He was a brigadier 
general of the New York State militia, 
in the service of the United States, 
and Secretary of State of New York. 
General Scott died in 1784, and was 
succeeded in his post of secretary, and in his profession, by his only son, Lewis 
Allaire Scott, of New York, who in turn became the parent of John Morin Scott, 
of Philadelphia. This John Morin Scott was also a lawyer. He was elected in 
1815 to the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, where he served two or 
more terms, and was again elected to that body in 1836. He was also a member 
of the Constitutional Convention of this state of 1837, and took an active part in 
the debates of that body. In 1841 he was elected mayor of the city of Philadel- 
phia, and was twice re-elected, holding the otlice for three years. The eldest son 
of Mayor Scott was Lewis Allaire Scott, who was also a lawyer by profession, and 
is still living. The subject of this sketch is the eldest child of the last mentioned 
Lewis Allaire Scott, and his wife, Fanny W., daughter of Kichard Wistar, of Phil- 
adelphia, Avhose family was also among the early settlers of this country. He 
received a careful education ; studied law and was admitted to practice in Phila- 
delphia on November 12, 1881, since which time he has diligently pursued his 
profession, and has acquired considerable practice. He was twice elected a mem- 
ber of the Eighth Sectional School Board of his native city, serving two consecu- 
tive terms. He was elected in the Eighth district of Philadelphia in the fall of 
1886 as a member of the House by a handsome majority, and re-elected in 1888 by 
an increased majority. He was not a candidate for the nomination for the session 
of 1891, and during these two years devoted himself entirely to the practice of his 
profession. He was, however, in the fall of 1892, unanimou.sly nominated by his 
party for the session of 1893, and was elected for a third term. He is a member 
of the Judiciary General, Federal Relations and other committees of the House 
and has presented several important bills to the House. He was married in De- 
cember of 1888 to Mi.ss Anna F. Barker, of Philadelphia, a descendent of the well- 
known Wharton family of that city.' He is a life member of the Pennsylvania 
Society of Sons of the Revolution. 



House of Representatives. 




r"OURTLANDT K. BOLLES, Kepre- 
^ seutative of the Ninth Phihidelphia 
district, was born in Portland, Me., on 
May 9, 1865. His father is the Rev. E. C. 
Bolles, D. D., of New York city, who is 
of New England ancestry. The son 
graduated from Tufts College, Massa- 
chusetts, and, in 1891, from the law ' 
department of the University of Penn- 
.sylvania as an LL. B. While a Univer- 
versity student he also studied law in 
the office of Biddie & Ward, the head 
of which firm is George W. Biddie. Mr. 
Bolles has practiced his profession ever 
since graduating, but had previously 
begun journalistic work, at which he 
spent about a year, at first on New Eng- 
land newspapers and afterward on the 
Philadelphia Inquirer. He never held 
any public office until elected to the 
House of Representatives in November, 
1892. He is in his second year as treasurer of the Ninth ward Republican Execu- 
tive Committee and is a member of the Union Republican Club and the Young 
Republicans. As an alternate delegate from the Second Congressional district in 
the Republican National Convention at Minneapolis, in 1892, he was ardently for 
Blaine until the latter's nomination was clearly impossible. Mr. Bolles has fre- 
quently been a delegate in city nominating conventions, latterly as chairman of 
his ward delegation. His majority of more than 600 over his Democratic 
opponent for Representative was the largest ever given to anj^ candidate in the 
Ninth district. He is very active and prominent in the Zeta Psi fraternity, 
being a meml)er of the Zeta Psi Club of New York, and of several grand chapters 
of the society. He is chairman of the Executive Committee of the Fish and Game 
Committee of the House, being a well-informed sportsman with a special leaning 
to trout fishing. He is also secretary of the Judiciary Local Committee, and a 
member of the Committees on Accounts, Public Buildings, Judicial Apportion- 
ment and Military. Among the bills introduced by him are several in relation to 
laM' procedure and other legal subjects. ]Mr. Bolles is a clear, logical and force- 
ful public speaker, as was demonstrated bj' his speech in support of the bill for the 
abolition of the Public Buildings Commission of Philadelphia. The success of 
the movement for the establishment of the Naval Battalion of Philadelphia, in 
which [My. Bolles is an ensign, is largely due to his efforts, and he has labored 
assiduously for the promotion of legislation in the interest of this new and popular 
branch of the National Guard. 



Flo use of Representatives. 



m 



.:*<-^^^ 






*ihh 


\ 




v~**% mKm^ 










|^j_ 




Pp 


^imrmtf^ 





WILLIAM E. LEEDS, one of the 
Representatives of the Tenth dis- 
trict (Sixth and Tenth wauls), of Phihi- 
delphia, has, for a generation, been one 
of the principal leaders of the Republi- 
can organization in that city, where he 
was born on January 31, 1837. His 
father was a tailor. When eleven years 
old the boy's public school training 
ended, and he became emiiloyed in the 
wholesale grocery business, in which he 
remained until appointed a letter carrier 
by Postmaster Walborn in 1861. A 
year later he was made superintendent 
of the letter carriers at the Dock Street 
postoffice. In 1864 he was appointed a 
deputy sheriff by Sheriff Henry C. How- 
ell, and was given charge of the personal 
estate sales. President Grant appointed 
him collector of internal revenue for the 
Second Congressional district in 1869, 
and in 1870 he was elected sheriff of Philadelphia by 6,889 majority. His chief 
deputy, Enoch Taylor, w^as subsequently chosen sheriff by 29,000 majority. Mr. 
Leeds was a trustee of the Philadelphia Gas Works continuously from 1866 until 
the amended city charter took effect, in 1887. He was chosen, in 1864, chairman 
of the Republican City Campaign Committee, and re-elected every year until 1869, 
when he resigned during his candidacy for sheriff. In 1877 he was again elected 
to the Republican City Committee, and in 1880 again made the chairman, which 
position he held until 1887, when he was once more the Republican nominee for 
sheriff, with A. J. Maloney as the Republican candidate for city controller. The 
Republican ticket was defeated, Charles H. Krumbhaar being elected sheriff and 
Colonel Robert P. Dechert re-elected controller. Mr. Leeds was a member of the 
House of Representatives in 1887 and 1891, but, in the latter term, resigned to 
accept the United States marshalship for the Eastern district of Pennsylvania, to 
which he was appointed by President Harrison. He resigned the marshalship 
shortly before being re-elected to the present House of Representatives. He has 
been a member of the Union League for twenty-five years, a member of the Union 
Republican club since its organization in 1869, and was president of the club for 
ten years after 1882. He was a delegate to several Republican National Conven- 
tions, being with the one in Cincinnati, 1876, when he voted first for Hartranft 
and then for Hayes, for President. Governor James A. Beaver wrote, in 1887 : 
"There is no man in office, or that has held office, elected on the Republican 
ticket, within a quarter of a century, but that owes to Mr. Leeds a debt of grati- 
tude. There is not a Republican voter interested in the success of Republican 
princijiles and Republican candidates and party supremacy' in state and nation but 
is under obligation to the skilful, tireless, courageous and fiiithful labors of 
William R. Leeds." For his famous work, lasting over a year, in managing the 
successful contests which ousted Democratic officials who claimed to have won in 
the elections of 1868, Mr. Leeds, who declined pecuniary compen.sation, was the 
subject of eulogistic resolutions adopted by the Union League. 



House of Representatives. 




'RANK M. RITER, born in Phila- 
delphia, Pa., May 20, 1855. 




House of Representatives. 




ALBERT CRAWFORD, representing 
the Eleventh district (Eleventh 
ward) of Philadelphia, was born in that 
city in the year 1843, October 9. He 
was educated in the public schools and 
his occupation is butchering. He first 
entered the Legislature as member of 
the House of Representatives in 1874 
and served in that session and the ses- 
sions of 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 
1883, 1885 and 1893. 




78 



House of Representatives. 



HARRY COFFIN is one of the young- 
est members of the Philadelphia 
delegation and has the distinction of 
being a Republican representing a ward 
that had, for an unbroken line of 3'ears, 
been represented in the House by a 
Democrat. He was born in the Third 
ward of Philadelphia, Novembers, 1865. 
When a child his parents moved into 
the Twelfth ward, where he has ever 
since resided. Mr. Coffin learned the 
trade of a barber, which occupation, 
after following for some years, he 
abandoned to enter commercial life. He 
received a common school education, 
but did not graduate. A few years ago 
he established himself in the flour and 
feed business at 404 and 406 North 
Fourth Street and in which he has been 
largely successful. He is a member of 
the Philadelphia Commercial Exchange. 
Mr. Coffin has been an active party spirit in his ward for several j'ears and has 
served as a delegate to all the important city nominating conventions of his party 
of late years. He was one of the promoters of the Edwin S. Stuart Club of the 
Twelfth ward, an influential and flourishing political organization. He has acted 
as its secretary from its start. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows, Knights 
of Pythias and American Mechanics. For twelve years he has been a meml)er of 
the Republican Executive Committee of his ward. Last fall he was nominated 
for the Legislature in opposition to the political boss of the ward, who preferred 
another candidate. He ran against Charles R. Gentner, who was particularly 
strong with the Germans, who constitute the bulk of the voters of the district and 
who had been the Representative for a number of years. Against Gentner's poj^u- 
larity and the secret influence of the ward leaders which favored Gentner some- 
what, he was elected \>y 179 majority, being the largest majority ever given a Re- 
publican candidate in the ward previously. Mr. Coffln is endowed with social 
qualities of a high degree which makes him exceedingly popular with the younger 
element of his district. In business his standing and credit is high. 





House of Bepreseittatives. 



79 




H, 



THOMAS DUNLAP, of Phila- 
delphia, is a native of Bucks 
t'ouuty. having been born at Kiutuers- 
ville March 29, 1852, and in 1872 he 
moved to Philadelphia. His father was 
a tailor. Mr. Dnulap attended the 
l)ublic school of his native village until 
his thirteenth year. At that time the 
school term, as now, was but tive months 
of the year. The poverty of his parents 
compelled him even at that tender age, 
to seek his own livelihood. He obtained 
employment as a canal boy on the 
Lehigh and Delaware canal, which oc- 
cupation, with its hardships and vicis- 
situdes, he followed sturdily until his 
seventeenth year. It was then determ- 
ined that he should have a trade and he 
was accordingly apprenticed to a local 
carpenter, which apprenticeship he 
faithfully served. Mr. 'Dunlap took a 
course of two years of instruction in tlie city of Philadeliihia under the direction 
of the great builder, Richard J. Dobbins, recently deceased. He continued as a 
trusted employe of Mr. Dobbins for ten years when he embarked in the carpenter- 
ing business. For fifteen years or more Mr. Dunlap has actively participated in 
political affairs. He has always been a Republican and made his influence felt 
in his party in the Thirteenth ward of Philadelphia. Under the administration 
of President Harrison he was tendered the responsible position of United .States 
store keeper in the internal revenue department, which position he held for two 
years and a half While still in that employ he was unanimously nominated as a 
candidate for the Legislature in his district in the fall of 1892. The vote by 
which he was elected was a flattering tribute to the esteem in which he was held 
and of his popularity. While the presidential electors received a majority of 632, 
that of Mr. Dunlap reached 862. He was the author of bills for the publication 
of additional advertisements of .sheriff's sales iu German newspapers ; for the ta.x- 
ation of malt liquor and for the reduction of the fee for brewer's licenses. ]\Ir. 
Dunlap is the architect of his own fortune, fighting his way up from a poor coun- 
try lad, thrown upon his own resources at thirteen, to a position of independence, 
honor and influence in the metronolis of his native state. 




80 



House of Representatives. 




W 



ILLIAM M. KIDD has been one 
of the fixtures of the Philadel- 
phia delegation in the House since 
1885. He is a native Quaker Cityite, 
liis birth dating back to March 27, 1839. 
Since 1885 he has continuously repre- 
sented the Fourteenth ward, his nomi- 
nations coming to him without fiction 
or factional dispute. Standing thus in 
high esteem with the voters of his dis- 
trict while other candidates of the reg- 
ular Republican organization have gone 
down with the angry tidal waves of re- 
form that have swept periodicallj' over 
the city during his active identification 
with a political career, he has stood 
like a rock on a storm-beaten coast. 
Mr. Kidd is an excellent product of the 
public school system of Pennsylvania, 
being a graduate of the Hancock Gram- 
mar School of Philadelphia. For many 
years he was an active member of the volunteer fire department of the city and 
enjoyed in it a popularity that has lasted him unto this day. He is now one of 
the leading spirits of the Survivor's Association of the old department. Since the 
organization of the latter he has participated as an officer in all the parades and its 
excursions to other cities. For some time he was attached to the Philadelphia 
custom house. At the session of the Legislature of 1889 he was chairman of the 
Committee on Centennial Affairs of the House, and it was largely through his 
executive ability and his mastery of details that made the trip of the Legislature 
to the Constitutional Centennial in New York city the great success that it was. 
Mr. Kidd is engaged in the business of photography and has a flourishing estab- 
lishment at Atlantic City. He is admired and beloved for the social side of his 
nature, being a boon companion, straightforward, rigid in his honesty and un- 
flinching in his friendship. To his friends he is known as "Captain" Kidd, a 
title that he wears with modesty and equipoise. 




House of Representatives. 



81 




W 



"ALTON PENNEWILL, who is 
serving his first term in the House 
of Representatives from the Fifteenth 
Phihxdelphia district, comprising the 
Fifteenth ward, is a native Philadel- 
phian, where he was born February 15, 
1861. He narrowly escaped being one 
of the Blue Hen's Chickens, his parents 
liaving removed from Delaware to Phil- 
adelphia at the close of the year 1860. 
His ancestei's had resided in Delaware 
from the time of its early settlement, 
and participated in both the wars of the 
Revolution and of 1812. Mr. Penne- 
will acquired his education in the 
schools of his native city, completing 
the entire course in the public schools, 
and graduating from the Central High 
School in 1878. He then entered the 
University of Pennsylvania, of which 
institution he was a graduate of the 
class of 1881. For an additional year he pursued the study of law, and was ad- 
mitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1882. He has not heretofore held any public 
position, but since his admission to practice he has been actively engaged in the 
<luties of his profession. Recently he has succeeded iu securing a verdict of 
|!2.T,000 against the Fiankford and Southwark Railway Company ; the largest ver- 
dict ever recorded in an accident case in the courts of Philadelphia county. 

In the present session Mr. Pennewill has made his impress on legislation iu 
the medical examiners' bill. It was not until this session that it has seemed 
possible to have any such measure which would not have the opposition of one or 
more of the schools of medicine. Mr. Pennewill had charge of the bill proposed 
by the Homeopathic Medical Society of Pennsylvania, the principal point of 
which was the idea of three boards, one each for the allopathic, homeopathic and 
eclectic schools. In the compromise which followed the offering of three differ- 
ent bills on this subject, Mr. Pennewill took an active part and secured the 
adoption of the "'three boards" idea in the bill, which has met the approval of 
all the disagreeing bodies of doctors. He has also been very active in support of 
the bill to abolish the Public Building Commission, making an effective speech 
in favor of the measure when it was before the House on second reading. For a 
new member Mr. Pennewill has been given especially good assignments on com- 
mittees, having been appointed on the Judiciary General, Vice and Immorality, 
Labor and Industry, Judicial Apportionment and Constitutional Reform. \ 



82 



House of Representatives. 




JOHN B. DeVELIN, one of the mem- 
bers from the Fifteenth district. 
Philadelphia, was born in Mountville, 
Lancaster county, March 15, 1845. He 
attended the public schools at West 
Hempfield six months a year, and when 
he was old enough he spent the other 
six months of the year in his father's 
store until he left school, after which 
he devoted all his time to his clerical 
duties until 1868. In that year be 
went to Lancaster and entered the 
newspaper business, acting as clerk 
and business manager of the Lancaster 
Inquirer until 1875. In the following 
year he engaged with the Carriage 
3Ionfhly, the organ of the wagon build- . 
ers and carriage manufacturers, which 
was published in Philadelphia, taking 
up his residence in the Quaker City to 
be near his new occupation, and for 
several years he acted as business manager of this journal until he went into the 
paper business with the late J. G. Ditman. When the business was transferred 
to A. G. Elliot & Co., Mr. DeVelin continued with the new firm until his election 
to the Legislature in November, 1892. This is Mr. DeVelin's first term as a mem- 
ber of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He has never held public 
oifice before, but in his short term as a servant of the people he has given evidence 
of a thorough acquaintance Avith public matters. He is quick at grasping the 
subject under discussion, and unhesitatingly enters a debate and supports his 
position with clear and concise arguments which commands the attention of his 
fellow members whether favorable or opposed to the views he advances. He is a 
member of the Committee on City Passenger Railways, Committee on Printing, 
Committee on Legislative Apportionment, Committee on Federal Relations and 
Committee on Manufactures. Mr. DeVelin has introduced a number of bills 
during the session, the most important being the bill for the removal of the 
Eastern Penitentiary, which is located in his district, and a bill to reduce the 
rates for telephone service. The latter was introduced at the instance of the 
Trade League of Philadelphia, but was defeated in the Senate. Mr. DeVelin is a 
prominent member of the Older of American Mechanics, being a Past Counsellor, 
and held the position of Deputy State Counsellor for several years. He is also a 
Past Grand Master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 



)fC 



House of Representatives. 



83 




WILLIAM FRANCIS STEWART, 
the senior member of the Philadel- 
phia delegatiou, is a native of Williams- 
})ort. Lycoming county, having been 
born in that city August 5, 1843. His 
parents lived on a farm and, when Wil- 
liam was three years of age, were killed 
l)y a stroke of lightning while engaged 
in family prayer on Sabbath evening at 
their home near Williamsport. Their 
remains lie in the old Newberry cem- 
etery, Lycoming county. Mr. Stewart 
was educated in the public schools of 
Baltimore, Philadelphia and Montgom- 
ery county. He was formerly engaged 
in the dyeing and scouring business but 
for the past thirty-seven years he has 
been holding a responsible position in 
the circulating department of the Public 
Ledger, Philadelphia. He has seen the 
Ledger grow from a small four-page 
newspaper to one of the largest and most readable journals in the world. In these 
many years he has been an earnest worker for the success of the Ledger and has 
contributed in no small degree to the wonderful success it has attained. Mr. 
Stewart has been a member of the House of Representatives continuously since 
1881, proof of the confidence and high esteem with which he is held by the elec- 
tors of the Sixteenth district, which he has represented these many years. He is 
one of the most active and intelligent members of the House, is chairman of the 
Committee on Banks and a member of the Committees on Ways and Means, Ap- 
propriations, Mines and Mining, Fish and Game and Retrenchment and Reform. 
Many of the most important bills now on the calendar were introduced by Mr. 
Stewart. Among them are the foUowiug : Empowering councils in the cities of 
the first class to revise and establish the line for wharfs and piers and low water 
or bulkheads line on the Delaware river ; aathorizing corporations to grant pen- 
sions to employes for faithful and long-continued service ; making appropriations 
for university extension. House of Refuge, Penn Asylum for Widows, for base ot 
monument of William Penn ; to provide for the better security of life and limb in 
case of fire in hotels and other buildings ; to exempt building associations from 
taxation \ to prevent exemption from levy and sale when the claims are for wages 
tor labor done ; for the removal of the island in the Delaware river opposite 
Philadelphia and appropriating $-200,000 therefor ; for the better protection of the 
electors of the commonwealth ; for the better protection of insane i>ersons confined 
in private asylums ; defining the rights of landlord and tenant in relation to the 
erection of fire-escapes. Mr. Stewart was a soldier during the late war, serving in 
company K, Twentieth Pennsylvania volunteers and company K, Two hundred 
and Thirteenth Pennsylvania volunteers. He was promoted to lance sergeant for 
good conduct at Monocacy Junction, Md., April, 1865. 



84 



House of Representatives. 




ELIAS ABRAMS, of the Sixteenth 
ward of Philadelphia, is serving his 
second term as a member of the House. 
During these sessions Mr. Abrams, by 
reason of the alphabetical construction of 
his name,hasled the roll-call and thereby 
has led his party in that respect. Com- 
manding that position in the Legisla- 
ture, Mr. Abrams has enjoyed the most 
confidential relations with his party, the 
House watching for the cue given by his 
vote. The occupation of Mr. Abrams' 
lather was that of a carpenter. When 
a youth Representative Abrams was ap- 
prenticed to a coachmaker. He mas- 
tered this trade but drifted into poli- 
tics. He was appointed to a position in 
the mint under the administration of 
President Garfield. He Avas subse- 
quently appointed general superintend- 
ent of the third sub-bureau of water 
of the municipality of Philadelphia. Mr. Arbams bears the distinction of repre- 
senting a strong Democratic ward, which attests his popularity and his influence. 
He was born on November 4, 1852. He is a graduate of the public school syste'm 
of his native city. His father was an active and influential Whig in the old dis- 
trict of Kensington. Mr. Abrams represents the Sixteenth and Eighteenth wards. 
On both occasions when he ran for the House he led his ticket. At the session of 
1893 be served on the following committees : Insurance, Centennial Affairs, Cor- 
porations and others. 



House of Representatives. 



85 




JOHN H. FOW, the popular and ver- 
J satile Representative from the Seven- 
teenth district, Philadelphia, was born 
in that city June 23, 1851. He is a 
great-grandson of Matthew Fow, who 
served in Captain Harmar's company 
of Colonel De Haas' regiment, the first 
Pennsylvania battalion raised by order 
of Conjfress in Philadelphia, October 
12, 1775. His mother's grandfather, 
Lewis Gerringer, was a soldier in the 
German battalion of Pennsylvania line, 
and his great uncle, ex- Judge Tyson, 
was a judge and a representative in 
Congress from New York. Mr. Fow's 
mother is still living at the advanced 
age of eighty-one years. His aunt, the 
celebrated Catherine Sharp, whose 
death occurred recently in Philadel- 
phia, lived to be one hundred and 
fifteen years old. Mr. Fow is a graduate 
from the law office of ex- Judge F. Carroll Brewster, and has been practicing at the 
Philadelphia bar since May 4, 1878. He has twice represented the Seventeenth 
ward in councils. He was chairman of the sub-committee of the bi-centennial 
celebration of the .settlement of the State, and was likewise a member of the 
committee having in charge the celebration of the constitution in 1887. Mr. Fow 
was the first president of the State Democratic League, and was vice-president for 
the years 1888, 1889 and 1890. During the years 1882 and 1883 he was a member 
of the State Democratic Committee. He is one of the Democratic leaders in Penn- 
sylvania. Mr. Fow has been correspondent of the Philadelphia Eimiing Star since 
1888. He is a bright and entertaining writer. He wrote the pamphlet for Presi- 
dent Cleveland upon the right of the President to remove Federal officials, for 
which Mr. Cleveland sent him a personal letter of thanks. Mr. Fow made his 
initial appearance as a member of the House in 1889, and has since been con- 
tinuously re-elected. He is famous for his quaint speeches, humorous quips and 
energetic manner in which he advocates all measures enlisting his attention and 
support. He is a clear and decisive debater, and his powerful arguments bear 
the undeniable impress of earnest conviction. He labors untiringly in behalf of 
Philadelphia. In the Seventeenth ward, Philadelphia, where Mr. Fow resides, 
no man is a greater favorite. He is a man to bitterly oppose crooked tran- 
sactions whether attempted in the chamber of councils or the halls of the Legis- 
lature. As a lawyer and legislator he has met with marked success. He is a 
member of the most important committees of the House and aLso of the executive 
committee of the Democratic caucus. 



86 



House of Representatives. 



1 OHN ANDREW JACKSON ENNLS, 
J of the Thirty-first ward, Philadel- 
phia, was born January 20, 1843, in 
that section of Philadelphia known be- 
fore consolidation as the district of 
Spring Garden. He comes from a dis- 
tinguished family. His great-grand- 
father, Richard Ennis, was a soldier in 
the Continental army, was born in Vir- 
ginia and participated in several battles 
of the Revolution. His mother's family 
were born in the Spring Garden district 
and his father's people came from 
Bucks county. Pa. Mr. Ennis secured 
his education in the public schools of 
his native city. He passed through the 
Binney primary school on Tenth street, 
below Giriard avenue, the secondary at 
Eleventh and Thompson, the grammar 
at Eighth and Thompson, and in 1856 
Avas transferred to the Randolph Street 
school, which he left in 1857 to begin the battle of life. He was apprenticed to 
the trade of a ship carpenter in the famous ship-building yards of Kensington. 
Although but a youth when the war of the rebellion broke out, Mr. Ennis' patri- 
otic nature was stirred in defense of the Union and when but eighteen years of age 
he enlisted, September 15, 1861, in company F, Ninety-first Pennsylvania volun- 
teers. The hardships of the service were too great for his nature and he was dis- 
charged from the service on January 12, 1862, for disability. He resumed his 
occupation in the ship yards. For twelve years past he has been foreman of the 
ship-fastening department for Charles Hillman & Co., ship-builders of Philadel- 
phia. Mr. Ennis has been identified with the Republican party since he has had 
a vote and has taken an active interest in its affairs. He has been a member of 
his ward executive committee and for five years its vice president, and repeatedly 
has been a delegate to its city and district conventions. In 1888 he was elected a 
member of the Legislature and has twice been re-elected. He possesses the confi- 
dence of the leaders of his district in a marked degree and has always been a pop- 
ular member of the Philadelphia delegation. 




House of Representatives. 




J 



AMES CLARENCY, one of the three 
Representatives of the Eighteenth 
district, Philadelphia, was born at Alle- 
gheny, Pa., April 1,1849. Hisfatherwas 
a small farmer and died March 10, 1856, 
when James was seven years old. The 
same j'ear the family removed to Phila- 
delphia where they have since resided. 
Mr. Clareucy attended the old Harrison 
Grammar school, on Master street, 
above Second, in 1858 and 1859. Day 
schooling ceased in the latter year. 
During the years 1868, 1869 and 1870 
he attended night school at the same 
building. He also attended the even- 
ing lectures at the Wagner Free Insti- 
tute of Science during the winters of 
1874 and 1875. He served in the Phila- 
delphia fire department from January, 
1872, to September, 1874, when he re- 
signed to accept a commercial position. 
In October, 1879, he entered the house of John "Wanamaker and has been em- 
ployed there continuously ever since. When a young man he identified himself 
with building as.sociation interests and is at present secretary of four building 
and loan associations in Philadelphia, the president of another and a director of 
three others. For a number of years he has written a weekly letter on this ques- 
tion for the Philadelphia Evening Star. He was elected a member of the Legisla- 
ture in 1892 and is a member of the Committees on City Passenger Railways, In- 
surance, Banks, Accounts, Legislative Apportionment and Retrenchment and Re- 
form. A number of important bills on the calendar were introduced by Mr. Clar- 
ency. Among them are the following : Empowering cities and boroughs to ap- 
propriate money for the payment of firemen in service and of firemen not in ser- 
vice disabled in the performance of their duties ; a supplement to the insurance 
laws of the state requiring the insurance companies or associations not incorpo- 
rated under the laws of the state to pay to the firemen's relief associations organ- 
ized in the cities, boroughs and townships, an annual bonus on premiums on the 
insurance eftected within the limits of such cities, boroughs and townships and 
regulating the collection thereof ; to protect]the holders of mortgages which are not 
first liens against real estate and to preserve the heir thereof in default of notice 
of any sheriffs rule on a writ of execution is.sued upon a judgment obtained in a 
suit in a prior judgment or mortgage or unlevied on bond or warrant accompany- 
ing a prior mortgage ; appropriating $10,000 to the several Day Nurseries in Phil- 
adelphia ; appropriating §25,000 to the Kensington Hospital for Women. All of 
these, except that relative to the holder of mortgages, etc., were passed. Of these 
measures the first two deserve special mention and have endeared Mr. Clarency to 
the firemen of the state. During his service in the Philadelphia fire department, 
having taken his share of the risks incidental to such an occupation, he became 
impressed with the extraordinary dangers to life and limb which are encountered 
by men following this class of work, and accordingly he is found at the first ses- 
sion of which he is a member, introducing and adTOcating ))illsfor the relief of his 
old comrades and their successors in the fire service. 



House of Representatives. 




ALFRED H. RA.VEN, of the Eight- 
eenth district of Philadelphia, 
which embraces the celebrated manu- 
facturing wards of that city, the Nine- 
teenth and Thirty-first, and which are 
conceded to represent the greatest tex- 
tile industrial center of the world, was 
born in the far-famed district of South- 
wark in that city, a section which has 
given to Philadelphia so many men of 
prominence and fame in every walk in 
life, on the 27th day of November, 1 850. 
At that time the district of Southwark 
was one of the several districts of the 
city having an independent govern- 
ment, and which continued until the 
act of consolidation was passed by the 
Legislature in 1854. Mr. Raven ob- 
tained a common school education in 
the public schools of his native city, 
and was subsequently apprenticed to 
the trade of shoemaking which he followed with success. He became a resident 
of the Nineteenth ward while still a young man, and entered politics there as a 
division worker. His services brought him to the notice of the party leaders, who 
had him appointed, in 1887, to the position of meter inspector in the gas depart- 
ment. His usefulness to his party caused him to be selected, in 1892, from a large 
field of aspirants, as a candidate for the Legislature, and he polled a flattering 
vote. Mr. Raven was appointed by Speaker Thompson on the Committees of 
Elections, Public Buildings and Labor and Industry. 



1-^ 



House of Representatives. 




WILLIAM H. KEYSER, Represen- 
tative of the Nineteenth Phila- 
delphia district, was born in the dis- 
trict of Spring Garden, Philadelphia, 
on May 19, 1855. His father, Andrew 
J. Keyser, was a joiner and worked at 
his trade in the Philadelphia Navy 
Yard from 1860 until shortly after 
President Cleveland's first inaugura- 
tion ; he was removed from the posi- 
tion of master joiner of the yard at 
League Island. James Smallman, who 
built the engine for Robert Fnlton's 
first steamboat, was an ancestor of the 
Representative. Young Ke3^ser was a 
pupil of the Wyoming Grammar school. 
After nine years attendance in the pub- 
lic schools he struck out, when less than 
fifteen years old, to earn his own living. 
Hs was employed from 1870 to 1879 in 
Leary's Old Book Store, Philadelphia, 
where among his fellow sales-clerks was Edwin S. Stuart, now mayor of that city 
and proprietor of that store. Mr. Keyser next established at Tenth and Arch 
streets the widely-known firm of William H. Keyser & Co., wholesale dealers in 
school books, whose store is now at No. 938 Market street. He was elected to the 
House of Representatives in Novembei-, 1884, and has served there with marked 
ability ever since. He was chosen a member of the State Committee in 1888 and 
in subsequent years. He was secretary of the city convention that nominated 
Magistrate Develin, and has long been a leader in the politics of the Twentieth 
ward, his residence having been continuously in the Twenty-ninth division. In 
the State Convention that nominated Henry K. Boyer for State Treasurer, and 
also in the convention that nominated John W. Morrison for State Treasurer and 
General D. McM. Gregg for Auditor General, and the State Convention which 
named Judge John Dean for the Supreme Bench and General William Lilly and 
Alexander McDowell for Congressmen-at-large, Mr. Keyser was a hard-working 
delegate. He was chairman of the committee appointed by the State Convention 
of 1891 to elect delegates-at-large for the proposed constitutional convention. Mr. 
Keyser's first eflbrt to be a Representative, in 1882, was made unsuccessful by 
the movement that elected Robert E. Pattison Governor. Mr. Keyser and Samuel 
A. Boyle, now assistant district attorney, being defeated for the House by Messrs. 
Hall and Abbett. In the legislative session of 1887 Mr. Keyser was distinguished 
as chairman of the Insurance Committee, and engineered the bill that gave Phila- 
delphia an additional orphans' court judge (Ferguson). He is and has been Jbr 
three terms chairman of the Committee on Passenger Raihvays. In 1889 he suc- 
cessively piloted among, other bills, those giving wheelmen right of way, and 
enabling foreign steamboat and transportation companies to hold real estate ; also 
the bill known as the general street passenger railway act, to remedy defective 
and narrowly-drafted laws. The slieritf's fee bill, defeated in 1883 and 1885, was, 
through Mr. Kej^ser's energy and influence, made a law in 1887. A special tribute 
to his sagacity and trustworthiness was paid in 1885 when he was the only mem- 
ber of the Judiciary General Committee who was not a lawyer. Other com- 
mittees of which he is now a member are the Ways and Means, Insurance, Edu- 
cation and Geological Surveys. His characteristics are bed-rock common sense, 
tireless industry and vigilance and fidelity to his friends. 



90 



House of Representatives. 




JOHN H. RIEBEL, one of the two 
J Kepresentatives from the Twentieth 
ward, Philadelphia, was born in the 
old district of Northern Liberties on the 
7th day of January, 1845. He was edu- 
cated in the common schools and then 
went to a trade. Two months after the 
Confederate guns had shelled Fort 
Sumpter, inaugurating the war of the 
Keliellion, Mr. Riebel hastened to the 
defence of the Union. He enlisted in 
the United States Marine Corps on the 
3d of June, 1861, and served throughout 
the entire war. After his enlistment he 
was attached to the sloop of war St. 
Louis, of the North Atlantic Squadron, 
which was detailed for duty at foreign 
stations in the blockade service at the 
l.'eginning of the strife. He subse- 
quently saw service on the southern 
coast and in 1864 participated in the re- 
occupation of the rebel Fort Sumpter and the raising of the stars and stripes over 
that stronghold. He was honorably discharged on December 12, 1865. Returning 
to the paths of peace, Mr. Riebel embarked in the cigar manufacturing business, 
which he has followed since. He has been an active Republican and a loyal lieu- 
tenant of David H. Lane, the well-known state and city leader. He has been a 
member of the ward executive committee for many years and has constantly been 
elected a delegate to his party convention. It was the unwritten law of his dis- 
trict, prior to his election to the Legislature, that two terms should constitute a 
legislative career, but the subject of this sketch has now broken the law twice, 
having been a member since 1887, which included four .sessions. Mr. Riebel is 
esteemed for his rare social qualities and his obliging disposition, two qualifica- 
tions required for success in politics. He is a member of the Masonic order, also 
of the Senior Order of American Mechanics, the Knights of Pythias and the Junior 
American Mechanics and Ancient Order of United Workmen. He also holds 
membership in the E. D. Baker Post No. 8, G. A. R., Union Veteran Legion No. 
20, the Fidelity Club, the Union Republican Club and the Republican Club of 
the Twentieth ward. 




House of Representatives. 



91 




WILLIAM L. CASSIN, of the Twen- 
tieth district, Philadelphia, was 
l)orn ill Philadelphia May, 1850, and 
was educated in the private schools of 
that city. His father, John Cassin, was 
a native of Media, Delaware county, 
Pa., where he was born September 6, 
1813, and his great grandfather, Joseph 
Cassin, came to Philadelphia from Queens 
county, Ireland, in 1725. Mr. Cassin's 
parents moved to Philadelphia early in 
this centurj'. Here his father engaged in 
the lithographic business, being a mem- 
ber of the firm of J. T. Bowen & Co. He 
was a member of common and select 
councils, of the Academy of Natural 
Sciences, Zoological Society, American 
Philosophical Society and Pennsylvania 
Historical Society. He was one of the 
greatest ornithologists of his day and 
made the collection of birds at the 
Academy of Natural Sciences his chief care. At the time of Mr. Ca.ssin's death it 
was considered to be the finest collection in the world. He wrote much, his prin- 
cipal works being the " Birds of California and Texas," " Synopsis of the Birds of 
North America," " Ornithology of the United States Japan Exploring Expedi- 
tion," "United States Astronomical Expedition to Chili," "Mammalogy and 
Ornithology of the Wilks Exploring Expedition " and "American Ornithology." 
He was a fine English, Latin, Greek and Hebrew .scholar and was one of the most 
di.stinguished naturalists this country has produced. He died in Philadelphia, 
January 10, 1869, and was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery. Mr. Cassin learned 
the trade of lithographic printing and after associated himself with the Oak Chem- 
ical Company, Philadelphia, with which he has since been connected. He has 
always taken active parts in politics and is a firm believer in the principles of the 
Democratic party. In 1892 he was elected to the Legislature from a Republican 
district and is a member of the Committees on Printing, Accounts, Compare Bills 
and Legislative Committee. He is also a member of the committee to investigate 
the Philadelphia Electric Light Trust. Mr. Cassin introduced and is interested in 
the passage of the measures known as the Lloyd's Association bill and the bill 
compelling pawnbrokers to give a description of the goods pawned with them to 
the police within twenty-four hours. He is a member of Roxborough Lodge No. 
135, F. & A. M., the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the American Legion of 
Honor, Independent Older of Red Men. the Encampment I. O. O. F. and the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, White Cross Castle, K. G. E., and Union 
Commandery. 



92 



House of Represerdatives. 




J 



OHN T. HARRISON, representing 
the Twenty-second ward of Phila- 
delphia in the House, was born in Eng- 
land on the 8th of March, 1848. Was 
brought to this country by his parents 
when five months old. He received his 
education in the admirable public 
schools of Germantown, which is an 
integral part of Philadelphia. His 
career began with the rebellion. 
Although a youth of between fifteen 
and sixteen years he determined to 
enlist through a patriotic impulse. His 
eagerness to don the blue was not ap- 
preciated by the recruiting ofiicers of 
the Union army stationed in Philadel- 
phia and the vicinity, who rejected him 
by reason of his age disqualification 
and because he could not produce the 
consent of his parents. The youthful 
Harrison then journeyed to Baltimore, 
where he was more successful. On the 13th day of February, 1864, he became 
a member of company B, Eleventh Maryland, shouldering a musket. He served 
with distinction until the close of the war and received an honorable discharge. 
Upon the return to his home Mr. Harrison entered the service of the Philadelphia 
and Reading railroad, being appointed express messenger on the main line and 
branches for nine years. While employed in a similar capacity on the Texas 
and Pacific railway an episode occurred which serves to show the inflexibility of 
his character. He was injured in a train accident, but was so determined to 
guard the safe of the express company, containing a large amount of money, that 
he refused to leave it until considerable time after, and then only upon the ap- 
pearace of the proper officials. The delay in receiving surgical treatment caused 
Mr. Harrison to spend .seven months in a hospstal. Mr. Harrison is a prosperous 
and wide-awake manufacturer at Germantown, which is a busy hive of industry. 
He is a member of the firm of Harrison &, Maltratt, hosiery manufacturers. He is 
a member of the Masonic Order and of Ellis Post No. 6, G. A. R. Mr. Harrison 
has been an active Republican since his return from the army. He has served as 
delegate to party conventions and as a member of the ward committee. He was 
elected to the Legislature in 1892, after a memorable contest, Herbert Walsh 
President Cleveland's Indian Commissioner and a well-known reformer, running 
as a third candidate in the hope of diverting the Republican vote. Mr. Harrison 
was elected by almost the regulation party majority, which was a splendid testi- 
monial of the appreciation in which he is held by people of the Twenty-second 
ward. 



House of Representatiuei<. 



93 




DANIEL MANNING COLLAMEK, 
Representative of the Tweuty- 
secoud district, Philadelphia, is, as his 
father was, a contractor and builder, 
having been engaged in the business 
ever since he learned the trade. He 
was born in New York City in 1856. 
His mother was a descendent of Pil- 
grim immigrants in the Mayflower, and 
his father's ancestry, originally Ger- 
man, is American for over two hundred 
and fifty years. His parents removed 
from Salem, Mass., to Philadelphia, 
about forty years ago. His father's 
xmcle, Jacob Col lamer, was United 
States Senator from Vermont, a judge 
at Woonsocket, Vt., and, subsequently, 
Lincoln's postmaster general. The ma- 
ternal great-grandfather of the Repre- 
sentative was a brother of Daniel Web- 
ster's mother. Mr. Collamer attended 
the Philadelphia public schools until he was thirteen years old, when he started 
life's battle as an errand boy around building operations. He was a member of 
the Philadelphia Board of Education for about two years, resigning to become a 
member of the present Legislature. He secured from city councils $20,000 for an 
addition to the Fairhill school and $40,000 for the new school at Coopersville. In 
a district with an average Republican majority of 600 he was elected Representa- 
tive as the Republican candidate, in November, 1892, by 812 majority over the 
strongest Democrat who could have been nominated against him, ex-Councilman 
Frank A. Hartranft. a relative of the late General John F. Hartranft, although 
there was factional trouble among the Republicans of the district at that time. 
He is a member of the House Committees on Education, Judicial and Congres- 
sional Apportionment and Eetrenchment and Reform. He was largely instru- 
mental in defeating the plan to make the basis of distributing the school fund, the 
number of months spent in teaching and the number of divisions or single schools. 
He introduced the bills to make election day a legal holiday, to abolish the travel- 
obstructing gate of the Fifth and Sixth Streets railway at Lehigh and Kensington 
avenues, to extend to five years the term of contracts for cleaning streets and 
■collecting ashes and garbage in Philadelphia, and to enable the sureties of build- 
ing inspectors to be released. He has been a leader in the battles for rapid transit 
in his city, and advocated making Saturday afternoon throughout the year a legal 
half-holiday. He engineered, in the House of Representatives, the bill empower- 
ing mechanics and laborers In and around buildings in course of construction or 
repair, to bring levies against the property for wages. Besides serving as a dele- 
gate in state and local conventions, he was chairiuan of the Republican Magistrate 
•Convention in 1891. Seven political clubs, including those of his own district and 
the Anti-Cobden and Tom Reed clul)s, have him as a member, and he is Past Master 
ot Apollo Lodge 386, ex-Past High Priest of Corinthian Chapter 250 (Masonic), a 
member of Corinthian (Jommandery 53, K. T., a past officer of Delta Castle, 
Knights of the Golden Eagle, and a member of Kensington Lodge I. O. O. F. 
Mr. Collamer is a concise and forcible public speaker. 



94 



House of Representatives. 



WILLIAM LITTLEY, of the Thirty- 
tifth ward, Philadelphia, eujoys 
the distinction of more nearly repre- 
senting himself than any other member 
of that delegation, perhaps. He was 
nominated for the present session against 
the command of the powerful combina- 
tion that controls the Republican pol- 
itics of Philadelphia, against the leaders 
of his district and of great and rich cor- 
porations. The subject of this sketch 
was born in Birmingham, England, July 
3, 1855. When at the age of fifteen he 
accompanied his parents to this country, 
they settling in Philadelphia. Soon 
after he was articled as an apprentice to 
the trade of a wagon blacksmith and at 
the completion of his trade entered the 
employ of the Disston Saw Works, then 
located in the Kensington district. He 
was assigned to the drop forging depart- 
ment. He followed these great works when they were moved to Tacony, in the 
Twenty-third ward, and was made foreman of his department. His skill as a 
workman and his inventive genius led him to suggest and to invent improvements 
in this department which actually doubled its output. His services thereby be- 
came invaluable to the firm, so much so that its operations were turned over to 
him under a contract. No man has a higher standing in the Disston Saw Works 
than he. Mr. Littly identified^himself with the Republican party when he came 
of age. He has been a member of the ward committee for a number of years, a 
delegate to many city nominating conventions and a factor in the political affairs 
of the ward. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Sparta 
and the Red Men. He was largely instrumental in the organization of the Tacony 
Republican Club and is an active member of the Union Republican Club, the cen- 
tral Republican club organization of the city. He is a member of the House Com- 
mittees on Corporations and Centennial Affairs. He swept the primaries for the 
nomination after one of the biggest contests the ward probably ever witnessed. 




>^ 



House of Representatives. 



95 




SAMUEL PELTZ, Representative of 
the Twenty-fourth Philadelphia, 
district, is one of the ablest of the 
younger members of the Legislature, 
and, although this is his first term at 
law-making, has already won distinction 
as a calm, logical, forceful speaker and 
an industrious and sagacious worker. 
Mr. Peltz was born in Philadelphia on 
September 9, 1860. His father, Eichard 
Peltz, is deputy clerk of the quarter 
sessions of Philadelphia, an ex-member 
of the city councils and one of the Pub- 
lic Building Commissioners to whom 
special tributes of respect were paid by 
members of the jjresent Legislature in 
their fight to abolish that commission. 
The paternal grandfather of the subject 
of this sketch was a member of the 
House of Representatives in 1830. The 
grandson was educated in private 
schools and the University of Pennsylvania, graduating from the college depart- 
ment of the latter institution in 1880. He studied law with the late William 
Nelson West, city solicitor of Philadelphia, and Henry J. McCarthy, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1882. He has practiced his profession ever since in his native 
city, mainly in civil cases, but very successful at the criminal bar also. He was 
assistant city solicitor from 1882 to 1884, and solicitor of the Public Buildings 
Commission for nearly four years, resigning the latter position to be a candidate 
for Representative. He served as a delegate in numerous nominating conventions, 
particularly those for judges and city solicitor. In November, 1892, he was 
elected Representative by a majority of about 2,700 over his Democratic opponent, 
Charles M. Beitenmiller. He is a member of the House Committees on Judiciary 
Local, Constitutional Reform, Judicial and Congressional Apportionment and 
Centennial Aflfairs. Among the bills introduced by him are those making appro- 
propriations to the Blind Men's Home, Western Temporary Home and Western 
Home for Infants, and several bills relating to practice in the courts of common 
pleas. His ability as a presiding officer has been shown in temporarily acting as 
Speaker of the House, and his extensive legal knowledge and forensic skill were 
displayed in his leadership, on the side of the Public Buildings Commission, of 
the discussion on the bill to abolish that body. Besides being enrolled in several 
local political clubs, including the Lincoln and Belmont Clubs of the Twenty- 
fourth wards, Mr. Peltz is a member of the Young Republicans and the Union 
League. 



96 



House of Representatives. 



GEORGE W. WEISSHAAR, who, in 
part, represents the Twenty-fourth 
district of Philadelphia, was 1x)rn in 
that city March 31, 1860. When nine 
years old he went to Newark, Illinois, 
where he attended the Newark Acad- 
emy for two years. He returned to 
Philadelphia at the expiration of that 
time, attended the Fayette Grammar 
school and after having graduated de- 
voted three years and a half to the 
acquirement of additional education in 
the Central high school at Broad and 
Green streets. Soon after he left the 
institution he entered the Carleton Print 
Works and was employed as a finisher, 
remaining in the establishment five 
years. He then made his home at Stott- 
ville, Columbia county. New York, 
where he passed eighteen months and 
from which place he again went to 
Philadelphia. On his return to his native city he entered the employ of Bement, 
Miles & Co., the owners of the most extensive tool works in the United States. 
He started with the firm as a clerk but was gradually promoted until made pay- 
master, which position he continues to hold. He has been in the service of the 
company for twelve years. Mr. Weisshaar has never held any office but the one 
to which his constituents elected him by about 2,700 majority, but he has been a 
delegate frequently to conventions of the Republican party in Philadelphia. He 
served in the House on the Banks, Military, Pensions and Gratuities and other 
committees. His father was a carriage-maker, and his ancestry dates back to 
Wirtemburg, Germany. 





House of Represeniatives. 



97 



T OSEPH G. EICHMOND, one of the 
J Representatives of the Twenty-fifth 
district, although of Philadelphia par- 
entage on his mother's side, was born in 
Youkers, N. Y., February 4, 1857. Mr. 
Kichmond's mother was Miss Sarah M. 
Gilmore. His father is a well and wide- 
ly-known business man, having been in 
the wholesale and retail grocery busi- 
ness for the last fifty years. Mr. Rich- 
mond's early education was obtained in 
the public and private schools of Yonk- 
ers, N. Y., and Newark, N. J., and the 
famous High School of Mont Clair, N. J. 
From the time of leaving school until a 
few years ago he had always been en- 
gaged -with his father in the grocery 
business. He is now with Koons, 
Schwarz & Co., wholesale grocers, Phil- 
adelphia. Since coming of age Mr. 
Richmond has ever been active in poli- 
tics, having attended as a delegate all the ward and city conventions for which he 
was a candidate, and was chairman of too many ward conventions to remember. 
He was a delegate to the state convention which nominated General Beaver and 
Lieutenant-Governor Davies for the second time. He was also chairman of the 
congressional convention which sent Mayor Stuart and Congressman H. H. Bing- 
ham as delegates to the National convention which nominated General B. H. Har- 
rison for President the first time. He has been a member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives three times, in the sessions of 1889, 1891 and 1893. At the last time 
that he was chosen he had a higher vote in the district than any other candidate 
on the ticket with him. Mr. Richmond has also achieved prominence in secret 
society circles, Ijeiiig a member and past master of Mozart Lodge No. 436, F. & 
A. M.. Caledonia Lodge No. 700, I. O. O. F., and Aurora Castle No. 15, K. G. E. 
He is also a member of the Young RepuV>lican Club of Philadelphia. He was cap- 
tain of its Company O in the campaigns of 1884, 1888 and 1892, and for several 
years served on its l)oard of directors. Mr. Richmond has acquired prominence in 
the present House by his championship of the Penrose bill and has made himself 
solid with his constituents as well as by the interest which he has taken in other 
bills which Avere purely local in their effects. 





98 



House of Representatives. 



ROBERT SMITH, who was elected to 
represent tlie Twentj'-sixtli ward, 
now divided into the Twenty-sixth and 
Thirty-sixth wards, is one of the young- 
est members of the House of Represent- 
atives. He was born in the ward 
which he now represents in the Legis- 
lature and will not have rounded out 
thirty years of life until June 13 of the 
present year. He was born in Philadel- 
phia and is of Irish descent. His 
father also acquired prominence in the 
administration of alfairs in Philadelphia 
and at one time occupied a responsible 
position under the municipal govern- 
ment in the Bureau of Gas. Mr. Smith 
is one of the many Philadelphia Repre- 
sentatives whose education has been 
obtained in the public schools of his 
native city. He early entered mercan- 
tile life, first in the grocery business, 
but shortly afterwards went into the clothing business. After remaining for 
sixteen years in the employ of Wanaraaker & Brown, he joined the forces of AV. 
H. Wanamaker, with whom he yet retains a position. Mr. Smith, ever since his 
majority, has been very active in Republican politics in his ward and is looked 
upon as one of Mayor Stuart's direct Representatives on the floor of the House. 
For several years he has been a member of his ward executive committee. He was 
oife of the incorporators of the Harmony Legion, of Company T, of which he was 
captain in the presidential campaign of 1888. He has been a member of the 
school board of the Twenty-sixth ward, from that portion which has been cut off 
to form the Thirty-sixth ward, and is a director of the Young Men's Republican 
Club of that ward. In 1891 he was elected without opposition to fill the unex- 
pired term of John M. Smith in the House and was re-elected for the full term in 
1892 by a majority of 2,600. Mr. Smith is serving as member and secretary of the. 
Committees on Congressional Apportionment and of Mines and Mining, and as a 
member of the Committees on Pensions and Gratuities and Constitutional Reform. 
Mr. Smith's society relations are very extensive at home and include membership 
in Lodge No. 3, V. & A. M. ; American Star Lodge, I. O. O. F. ; Triumph Lodge, 
K. of P., of which he is past chancellor ; American Star Lodge, A. P. A.; Reli- 
ance Council, Jr. O. U. A. M., and Court Columbus, A. O. of Foresters. 





House of Representatives. 



99 



SAMUEL CROTHERS, who repre- 
sents the district comprising the 
Twenty-seventh ward, West Philadel- 
phia, is one of the prominent young 
members of the House of Representa- 
tives, and has acquired distinction at 
tlie present session as the champion of 
rapid transit measures endorsed by a 
town meeting of the citizens of Phila- 
deljihia, Mr. Crothers was born in Phil- 
adelphia county on October 12, 1856, 
when the word "county" as attached 
to Philadelphia indicated a large area of 
rural territory. Mr. Crothers' father 
was a farmer and dairyman of the suc- 
cessful kind. At as early an age as the 
law allowed he started oft" to the public 
schools the lad who was subsequently 
to attain distinction as the Representa- 
tive of his neighbors, first in the muni- 
cipal legislature and later in the law- 
making l)ody of the state. For ten years young Crothers pursued the studies pre- 
scribed, when his desire to enter upon the active field of business life was yielded 
to by his parents. He learned the trade of marble worker in all its branches, and 
as soon as he reached the line which the law draws between youth and manhood 
he entered upon an active career in the marble business for himself, and became 
an extensive employer. In this business he remained for eight years, when he 
recognized the enormous strides which Philadelphia Avas making in house build- 
ing and he embarked in the real estate business, at Avhich he has been successful 
and in which he is now engaged. Upon his entering into political life Mr. Crothers. 
was chosen to represent his ward in common councils, and was re-elected twice. 
While serving his third term he resigned to become a member of the Legislature 
of 1891. There was no opposition to his nomination last fall, and the Democrats, 
recognizing the futility of opposition to his election, made no nomination for the 
office. Mr. Crothers' Committees in the present I<egislature are Insurance, Manu- 
factures, Federal Relations, City Passenger Railways and Congressional Apportion- 
ment. 





100 



House cf Representatives. 




pH;ARLE8 HAKKY FLETCHER, of 
^ Philadelphia, was born in the 
old district of Soiithwark on the 11th 
day of February, 1849, and in October 
of that year moved into the Twenty-first 
ward, now the Twenty-eighth. He is a 
son of Joshua L. Fletcher, who achieved 
a national fame, as the editor and pub- 
lisher of the Philadelphia Drnly Sun, 
the influential organ of the Native 
American party. During tlie riots of 
1844 the office of the Daily Sun was 
attacked by an infuriated mob and 
threatened with destruction. Mr. Flet- 
cher was made of stern stuff, however, 
and refused to be cowed by the mob 
intimidation. For a number of years 
he was one of the political leaders of the 
city and a man of strong force of char- 
acter and literary ability. The subject 
of this sketch received a sound educa- 
tion in the public and private schools of Philadelphia. He began his active 
career in life as a clerk in the general office of the Pennsylvania railroad, in 
which employment he acquired a high standing. Like his distinguished ftxther, 
Mr. Fletcher took to political activity as a duck gravitates to water, and, when 
he had attained his majority, he was even then known as an enthusiastic 
party worker. From that time to this his influence in the field and in the 
councils of his party has steadily increased and widened so that now he is the 
Republican leader of the Twenty-eighth ward, one of the largest, most populous 
and intelligent in the city. His first public appointment was in the water de- 
partment of the city. He subsequently transferred his services to the Gas Bureau 
of the Receiver of Taxes where he filled the position of chief clerk w ith marked 
ability. In 1888, Mr. Fletcher was elected to the Legislature from the district 
now known as the Twenty-seventh and which includes the TMentj^-eighth, 
Thirty -second and Thirty -seventh wards, and has served continuously since, there 
having been no opposition to either of his three nominations. He is looked upon 
as one of the leading and influential members of the city delegation. For twenty- 
one years he has been a member of the Republican Executive Committee of his 
ward, a political record rarely attained in a great citj' where the competition in 
politics is so sharp and constant. He has been secretary of the Republican City 
Committee for eight years for which he is peculiaril^- adapted both by training 
and experience, and in which capacity he has enjoyed intimate and confidential 
relations with the party leaders, has aided in molding the party policy and the 
selection of the candidates. He holds an active membership in eleven political 
and social clubs. He is president of the Twenty-eiglith-Thirty-second club, the 
leading Republican organization of his ward. Mr. Fletcher's popularity extends 
far beyond the bounds of his own district and he has been prominently mentioned 
as a candidate for a luerctive Row office. He is a rare type of the bustling tire- 
less junior Republican leaders who have maintained Philadelphia steadily as the 
Gibraltar of Republicanism. lie resides in the family homestead. He is a brother 
of the late L. B. Fletcher of the Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry and of Colonel J. S. 
Fletcher of the United States Regular Army, now on the retired list. 



House of Bepresentaiives. 



101 




H 



ENRY F. WALTON, the popular 
young R<?publican leader of the 
House, is one of the Representatives 
from the Twenty-seventh district, Phil- 
adelphia. He was born in Stroudsburg, 
^louroe county, Pa., October "2, 185s, 
and removed to Philadelphia with his 
parents the following year. After hav- 
ing been educated in the public schools 
and b}' private tutors he entered the 
law ofttce of Hon. Wayne MacVeagh 
& George Tucker Bispham, Esqs., and 
Avas shortly afterward appointed assist- 
ant librarian of the law library by Mr. 
Bispham. In 1876 he was registered as 
a law student under that gentleman, 
and in the meantime was a prominent 
member and officer of the law academy. 
Two daj's after his twenty-tirst birth- 
day, October 4, 1879, he was admitted 
to the bar, and immediately entered the 
law office of Francis Rawie, Esq. In Apiil, 1884, when Charles F. Warwick be- 
came city solicitor of Philadelphia, that gentleman, in recognition of Mr. Walton's 
abilities, appointed him as one of his assistants, and retained his services until 
lie was elected a member of the Legislature. For fourteen years Mr. Walton has 
been one of the most popular and ^progressive residents of the Twenty-eighth and 
Twenty-second wards, Philadelphia, an active worker in the Republican ranks, 
and has performed yeoman's service therein. Before he attained liis majority he 
made a brilliant address in'favor of James A. Garfield's candidacy for President, 
and since that time he has been a prominent and pleasing stump orator. In 
November. 1890, Mr, Walton was elected to the Legislature from the Twenty- 
seventh district, which comprises the Twenty-eighth and Thirty-second wards of 
Philadelphia. He was re-elected in 1892, and was the choice of the Philadelphia 
delegation for Speaker of the House. Mr. Walton's candidacy for this honorable 
position challenged the admiration of all who knew him, and many of his col- 
leagues were pledged to his support. On the day on which tlie Republican caucus 
was held he withdrew, and was selected by Hon. Caleb C. Thompson, of War- 
ren, who was unanimously nominated, to place his name before the caucus. Mr. 
Walton is an able lawyer and a legislator with a promising future. He is chair- 
man of the House Judiciary General Committee and a member of other important 
committees. He is a prominent and influential member of many fraternal organi- 
zations. He is a charter member of the Young Republicans of Philadelphia, and 
his name is upon the rolls of several political organizations. He was married in 
1882 to Ella G. Norman, of Baltimore. His family consists of his wife and three 
daughters. This is the way the Philadelphia Record, that staunch Democratic 
daily, speaks of Mr. Walton, who, of course, is a Republican : " Eloquence is not 
the only characteristic of ability which Mr. Walton possesses. He is a born parlia- 
mentarian, and can hold the House in better command than any other member 
whom Speaker Thompson has called to the chair. He has a digniflod manner that 
befits a presiding officer. During the session he has given his attention to general 
legislation with marked industry and ability." 



102 



House of RepTesentativcs. 




JOHN O. TAXIS, wlio is one of the 
members of the House from tli^ 
Twenty-eighth district of Philadelphia, 
was born in the Tenth ward in that city 
April 10, 1853. He applied himself 
closely to the acquirement of his educa- 
tion in the pnl)lic schools of his city 
while he had the opportunity. At thir- 
teen years of age force of circumstances 
compelled him to work for his liveli- 
hood. His first venture in the business 
Avorld was as ofiSce boy in Frederick 
Steeb's banking house. He served in 
that capacity for three years. From the 
banking house \\fi entered the Union 
National Bank as a clerk, and so well 
did he perform his duties that he was 
promoted to the highest clerkship in 
the institution. He remained in the 
bank for five years, when he connected 
himself as clerk with the Rojal In- 
surance Company. He performed his duties faithfully and efficiently and was 
promoted to the highly honorable position of cashier. He remained in the employ 
of this great company fourteen years before he severed his connection with it to go 
into business for himself He then embarked in the real estate and general in- 
surance business and has successfully continued it at Thirty-first street and 
Girard avenue, Philadelphia. Mr. Taxis identified himself with politics in 1874 
and has since been one of the hardest and most sagacious workers in the Kepubli- 
can party. He has represented his party in city and state con\entious. In 1884 
he was elected a member of common council of Philadelphia by a majority exceed- 
ing that of any other candidate. He was re-elected three times in succession and 
always ran ahead of his ticket. . He was prominently identified with many im- 
provements inaugurated and pu.shed to completion while he served in the city 
legislature. He was in the forefront in the advocacy of all measures calculated 
to advance the interests of Philadelphia and gave his active support to the admis- 
sion into that city of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, the Reading railroad ter- 
minal and the Belt line. Mr. Taxis is a large stockholder in and is also secretary 
of the "West End Electric Company, Avhicli has proved a great benefit to the people 
of the northwestern portion of Philadelphia. On September 7 of last year he was 
nominated unanimously for the House and elected by a large majority at the suc- 
ceeding election. As a member of the House he served on the Committees on 
Municipal Corporations, Retrenchment and Reform, Public Buildings and Geo- 
logical Survey. Mr. Taxis' experience in councils has been an invaluable benefit 
to him, and he has made a good legislator and stands high with his fellow-mem- 
bers in that body. 



House of Representatives. 



108 




W 



ILLIAM NICKELL, who, witli 
John O. Taxis, represents the 
Twenty-eiglith district, Philadelphia, 
was boru in Gordonville, Lancaster 
county, October 16, 1852. His lather 
was a farmer and cattle dealer, and 
when the subject of this sketch was two 
years old his family moved to Philadel- 
phia, taking up a residence in the Fif- 
teenth ward. His father died when he 
was nine years old, leaving a wife and 
Ihree children, of Avhich William was 
the eldest. This deprived the iamily 
of its main support at a time when it 
was most needed and naturally re- 
stricted the advantages the children 
would have enjoyed if their father had 
lived. William attended the public 
schools two years longer, leaving the 
Lincoln Grammar school, at Twentieth 
and Fairmount avenue, to contri])ute to 
the family support })y becoming an errand boy. When sixteen years of age he con- 
nected himself with passenger railway companies, acting as driver, conductor and 
finally becoming a stable boss. For the past thirteen years he has been a travelling 
salesman and is president of the Pennsylvania Division of the Travelling Protective 
Association of Ameiica and of the Salesmen's Association of Philadelphia, which 
he helped to organize six years ago. Mr. Nickell is a zealous and enthusi- 
astic Republican and has been a member of the State Republican Committee for 
the past two years. He is serving his fourth term as a member of the ward com- 
mittee and for two years has been chairman of the Committee on Organization. In 
1892 Mr. Nickell was elected to the Legislature. Although serving his first term, 
he is one of the most active and best equipped members and parliamentarians of 
that body. He is a ready debater and is always in his seat. He a member of the 
Committees on Banks, Counties and Townships, Public Buildings, Public Health 
and Sanitation and Manufactures. Mr. Nickell introduced and championed in 
committee, and on the floor of the House, bills prohibiting the employment of any 
but American citizens on the erection, enlargement and improvement of any 
building to which state funds are appropriated ; making it unlawful to utter or 
accept promissory notes to which a voluntary confessiou of judgment is attached ; 
to prevent the adulteration of vinegar and deception in its sale ; also a resolution 
requesting the Senators and Representatives in Congress to vote and use their in- 
fluence against the passage by Congress of a bill offered by Congressman Tucker 
of Virginia, provididt: for the taxing of commercial travelers. 



104 



House of Representatives 



WILLIAM T. ZIEGLER, of Adams 
county, was born in Gettysburg, 
October, 1840. He removed to Phila- 
delphia with his parents in 1846, and 
in August, 1851, he apprenticed himself 
to Alfred Lowe, a hatter, under whom 
lie served four years, learning the trade 
of silk hat body making. During his 
apprenticeship Mr. Ziegler attended 
night schools, this being the only ad- 
vantage he ever had of acquiring an 
education. He afterward served eight- 
een months under instruction with 
Joseph Fariara & Son, hatters, Phil- 
adelphia. In 1858 he returned to 
Gettysburg and served three years at 
carriage painting. Mr. Ziegler, in 
August, 1861, enlisted in company F, 
Eighty-seventh regiment Pennsylvania 
volunteers for three years, and was 
with his command in every battle and 
skirmish in which it engaged until June 23, 1864. On that day, in a tierce charge 
of the Confederates, he was compelled to surrender, with several hundred others 
from the front line, at the Weldon railroad, near Petersburg, Va. He was taken 
to Richmond, Va., and thence to Andersonville prison, and on July 10, 1864. he 
entered the north gate of that most infamous of all rebel prison pens, where he 
was destined to remain until April 28, 1865, when he was turned loose with the 
last jn-isoners held by the Rebels, at Baldwin junction, Florida. Since 1870 he 
has successfully conducted the largest livery establishment in Southern Pennsyl- 
vania. He makes the Gettysburg battletield a specialty, and is thoroughly fami- 
liar with all the details of the tamous battle. Mr. Ziegler is serving his second 
term in the House, an honor accorded to no other Representative from Adams 
since the adoption of the new constitution, and is a member of the Committees 
on Appropriations, Municipal Corporations, Railroads and Judiciary Local. His 
popularity at home is attested by the fact that he has passed the chairs in Cayugas 
Tribe I. O. R. M., Gettysburg Lodge I. O. O. F., Good Samaritan Lodge A. F. & 
A. M., and Good Samaritan Chapter R. A. M. He is a Past Commander of Post 
No. 9, G. A. R. ; has served two terms as Colonel Commander Union Veteran 
Legion. Mr. Ziegler has also served as school director from a Republican ward, 
and was, when elected to the Legislature, a member of the town council. 





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House of Representatives. 



105 



NICHOLAS G. WILSON, the Repub- 
lican representative from Adams 
connty, was born on tbe 6th day of 
October, 1832, in Menallen township, 
that county. His father was a teamster 
and hauled emigrants and goods from 
Philadelphia to Pittsburg, Pa. His 
great grand-parents came from Ireland 
and were among the first settlers in 
Adams county, having settled where 
the town of Bendersville is located, in 
the year 1735. They belonged to the 
religious sect known as Orthodox 
Quakers. Representative Wilson re- 
ceived his education in the public schools 
of Menallen township from 1840 to 1848, 
when he commenced learning the black- 
smith trade. He worked at that busi- 
ness about seven years, and afterwards 
ran a stationary engine. In July, 1862, 
he enlisted in company G, One hundred 
and thirty-eighth regiment Pennsylvania volunteers as First Sergeant and served 
in the Army of the Potomac until the ninth day of July, 1864, when he was se- 
verely wounded in the right hand at the battle of Monocacy, Md., by a Rebel 
sharpshooter. After partially recovering from the wound he was sent to Cham- 
bersburg. Pa., on detached duty and remained there until the close of the war. 
He was appointed superintendent of the Gettysburg, Pa., National Cemetery by 
the Secretary of War (General Belknap), on the 1st of July, 1873, and served in 
that capacity until the 1st of October, 1887. Then he resigned to take charge of 
the grounds of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association, which position 
he still holds. He served three years in the Gettysburg town council and three 
years as president of the Gettysburg school board, having resigned that position 
when elected to the present Legislature. Although a republican he was elected in 
a county which has been giving a Democratic majority of about 500. His majority 
was 14 while that of his Democratic colleague was 305. He served on the 
Public Buildings, Military, Pensions and Gratuities, Counties and Townships and 
Bureau of Statistics Committees. 





1 06 



I louse of Representatives. 




C 



^HARLES A. MUEHLBRONNER, 
one of the Representatives IVom the 
First district. Allegheny, was born in 
the city of Philadelphia May 10, 1856. 
At an early age his parents located in 
Lagrange, Ohio, where his father en- 
listed in the Union army as a cavalry- 
man. After the war the family removed to 
Allegheny city and engaged in the milk 
business in the Seventh ward, where 
Charles delivered milk for some years, 
after which he obtained a position as 
clerk in a grocery store. A few years 
later he started in the produce business 
for himself. At that time Mr. Muehl- 
bronner was appointed tax collector for 
the Seventh ward, which position he 
held for three years. He was a member 
of the l)oard of comptrollers and held 
the office of common councilman at the 
same time for two terms. Subsequently 
he was elected to select council. After having served one-half of his term of four 
years he was elected a member of the House of Representatives, and is now serv- 
ing his second term. 

Mr. Muehlbronner is actively engaged in the produce business, being manager 
of the Iron City Produce Company of Pittsburg. He was educated in the com- 
mon schools and takes a common sense view of all things political. Mr. Muehl- 
l)ronner has been in public service continuously for fifteen years and has never 
been defeated in any office for which he has been a candidate, a proof of his popu- 
larity and the trust imposed in him by those who know him best. 

Mr. Muehlbronner is a member of Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias, 
Junior Order of United American Mechanics, Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
and the Young Men's Republican Tariff Club of Pittsburg. He is a man of fine 
appearance, of suave manners and excellent business qualifications. His family 
consists of a wife and six children -two sous and four daughters. 




House of Be j) reset t fat ires. 



107 



E;* MANUEL WERTHEIMER, of tlie 
-' First Allegheny district, is a mem- 
ber of the vast business interests of the 
firm of Guckeulieimer & Bros., the Alle- 
gheny distillers, and one of the most 
substantial and generally respected He- 
brew citizens in the State of Pennsylva- 
nia. He wasboru in Wurtemberg. Ger- 
many, October 16, 1834, and came to 
the United States in 1850. In 1857 he 
became connected with the Cucken- 
heimer firm, in which he has since 
risen to the chief place. Under his judi- 
cious management the Guckeulieimer 
distillery at Freeport, Pa., has devel- 
oped into the largest and finest on the 
American continent, and its product is 
famed the world over. Mr. Wertheimer 
is a resident of the Third ward, Alle- 
gheny, and has represented that ward 
in councils for thirteen years, serving in 
the common brancli from 1879 to 1889, and since then in the select council. He is 
chairman of the Finance Committee and exercises a powerful influence for good in 
determining the economic policy of the administration of that city. His trained 
business faculty and clear insight into affairs of legislation make him an excep- 
tionally valuable Representative of the people. In addition to supervising the 
city busine.ss of the Guckeulieimer firm, Mr. Wertheimer manages the distillery 
at Freeport, and is president of the bank at that place. In 1892 Mr. Wertheimer 
•was elected to the Legislature. Although serving his first term he has a clever 
insight into legislative matters and is one of the most active, popular and best- 
equipped members of the House. He is a member of the Committee on Banks, 
Municipal Corporations, Railroads, Centennial Affairs and Vice and Immorality. 
He is also a member of the sub-committee to investigate the aflairs of the World's 
Fair Commission. Mr. Wertheimer is a genial, courteous gentleman, lil»eral in 
his views and philauthropical of disposition. In politics he is a Republican and 
for many years he has been one of the foremost leaders of his party in Western 
Pennsylvania. The Concordia Club in Allegheny owes much to Mr. Wertheimer's 
inspiration, and he is never behind hand in contributing to deserving charities and 
.seconding public enterprises. 




108 



House of Representatives. 




WILLIAM T. MARSHALL was horn 
in Allegheny City, Pa., February 
13, 1858. His father was at that time 
a blacksmith, but later went into the 
grocery business, in which the subject 
of this sketch was engaged with him 
for several years. Both of Mr. Mar- 
shall's parents were born in England, 
but emigrated to America while young. 
They were married in Allegheny City. 
Mr. Marshall was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Allegheny City and the 
Western University of Pennsylvania. 
He read law under the direction of Hon. 
Thomas M. Bayne, and was admitted to 
practice at the bar in Allegheny county 
in 1880. He is now in the natural gas 
Vjusiness, being connected with the 
People's Natural Gas Company of Pitts- 
burg. Mr. Marshall w-as deputy col- 
lector of customs at the port of Pitts- 
burg, Pa., under Collector John F. Dravo, during the terms of Presidents Gar- 
field and Arthur, from 1881 until the advent of a Democratic administration re- 
tired him to private life in 1885. He was the first delegate from the Second Legis- 
lative district of Allegheny, as now constituted, to the Republican State Conven- 
tion of 1887, which nominated Hart for State Treasurer and Williams for the Su- 
preme Court, and was the first Representative elected to the Legislature from that 
district in 1888. He was re-elected by a handsome majority in 1890, and again 
re-elected from the same district in 1892. He served on the Appropriations Com- 
mittee during the .session of 1889, was second member on that committee during 
the session of 1S91, and was appointed chairman of the Committee for the Colum- 
bian session, 1893, filling the position to the satisfaction of everybody. This re- 
quired hard work early and late, but the work was thoroughly done. He is also 
a member of the Committees on Corporations, Judiciary Local, Rules and Library. 
Among the important bills introduced by Mr. Marshall during the session of 1893 
were a general mining law for the bituminous region ; to repeal the act prohibit- 
ing the consolidation of competing pipe lines ; the general appropriation bill and 
to legalize Sunday newspapers. He has been one of the most popular and zealous 
members of the House for three sessions, and has made a very enviable record in 
every respect. 






House of Represimiativea. 



109 




» » OIK 



.LI AM JOHN Mcdonald, 

one of the very popular young 
members of the House, was born in Alle- 
gheny City, Pa., December 28, 1858, 
where his fether was a general contrac- 
tor. The elder McDonald was a Repub- 
lican from the organization of that 
party, and was a member of the Reimb- 
lican County Committee of Allegheny 
couuty for about twenty years. The 
subject of this sketch very naturally 
drifted into political work and has been 
one of the best known workers in the 
party in his district. As a contractor 
Mr. McDonald's father built many of 
the large buildings in Pittsburg. He 
was superintendent of construction of 
the Allegheny county work-house and 
also of the Allegheny City poor-house. 
He was appointed, in 1858, on the stall' 
of Governor Pollock, with the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel. William John McDonald was educated in the public schools 
and the old Second ward high school of Allegheny City. He also graduated from 
Duff's Business and Commercial College in 1876. The next year he entered the 
office of the prothouotary of Allegheny county as paperboy and the year following 
was promoted to docket clerk of the court of common pleas No. 1, which responsi- 
ble position he held for ten years. During this term he read law under the direc- 
tion of Hon. Thomas M. Marshall and James S. Young, Esq., and was admitted to 
practice at the bar of Allegheny county in 1883. Mr. McDonald represented the 
Second ward in the Allegheny City council for the years 1887, 1888, 1889 and 1890. 
He was appointed, in the last named year, as Assistant United States Attorney for 
the Western District of Pennsylvania by President Harrison. He was a delegate 
to the Republican State Convention in 1890 and was elected a member of the Gen- 
eral Assembly' of Pennsylvania in November, 1892. from the Second legislative dis- 
trict of Allegheny county by a flattering majority. He is second man or secretary 
of the General Judiciary Committee and is a member of the Committees on Ways 
and Means, Railroads, Elections and Vice and Immorality. Mr. McDonald is a 
member of McKinley Lodge No. 318, F. & A. M., of Allegheny Council, Duquense 
Chapter, Pittsburg Commandery No. 1 Knights Templar, Pittsburg Consistory — 
thirty-second degree Masons — Syria Temple Nobles of Mystic Shrine and of the 
Jr. O. U. A. M. He is also a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association. 



Kk^ 



110 



House of Representatives. 




MICHAEL B. L 
ino; liis fourth 



>EMON. who is serv- 
ith term in the House of 
liepreseutatives from Allegheny county, 
was born in the adjoining county — 
Westmoreland — iu June, 1844. He was 
educated in the common and private 
schools of the state. He has a credit- 
aljle war record of which he is justly 
proud. Mr. Lemon enlisted iu the gal- 
lant One hundred and Fifty-fifth Penn- 
sylvania volunteers, commanded by 
Colonel Pearson. He was severely 
wounded in 1864, at the battle of the 
Wilderness, and was discharged by 
reason of his wounds. Of the One hun- 
dred and Fifth-fifth it is of record that 
the last man killed during the war was 
Private Harrison, of company I, in the 
skirmish line in front of Richmond. Mr. 
Lemon is one of the most active as well 
as popular members of the Grand Army 
of the Republic, being connected for many years with one of the largest Posts of 
Pittsburg. He is also a member of Union Veteran Legion No. 1. the oldest organ- 
ization of the kind in the United States. He is serving his second term on the 
Soldiers' Orphan School Commission of Pennsylvania, an evidence that his com- 
rade in arms and the state officials place implicit confidence in his ability and in- 
tegrity. At his home Mr. Lemon has been honored with the presidency of the 
South school board. Second ward, Pittsburg, for four consecutive years. He was 
a delegate to the State Republican Convention in 1855 and has filled other offices 
of trust with marked credit and ability. He is by occupation a travelling sales- 
man, and has the essential qualities about him which make up an active business 
man, an alert legi,slator and a social, agreeable gentleman. Mr. Lemon has intro- 
duced a large number of bills, among them one appropriating $15,000 for the 
Ladies' G. A. R. Home at Hawkins' station, and another making an appropria- 
tion of $10,000 to the Newsboy's Home, Pittsburg. He is a tireless committe 
worker and is one of the most active members of the House Committees on Appro- 
priations, Corporations and Legislative Apportionment. Mr. Lemon is chairman 
of the House Military Committee. 



House of R>'preseiiU(iii'<'S. 



Ill 



ARCHIBALD MACKKELL, who, 
with representative Leiuon. repre- 
sents the Third district of Allegheny 
county, was born in Pittsburg, August 
26, 1858. After having received the 
benefits of a common school education 
he learned steel hammering, which busi- 
ness he has followed ever since. He 
has a position in the Labella steel works 
in Allegheny City, in which he has been 
employed the past six years. His can- 
didacy for a seat in the Pennsylvania 
House of Representatives was his tirst 
political venture, and as he had no op- 
position for the nomination he had more 
luck than is possessed by aspirants for 
political positions generally. His elec- 
tion was almost as easily accomplished 
as his nomination, as he triumphed at 
the polls by a large majority. Although 
this is Mr. Mackrell's first term in the 
House he has attached to himself numerous warm personal friends, who wish him 
many returns to the Legislature. He was appointed by Speaker Thompson on the 
Committees on Corporations, City Passenger Rail ways, Education and Printing, to all 
of which he gave the closest attention possible. He introduced a number of bills, 
among them the bill enlarging the jurisdiction of justices of the peace and alder- 
men by allowing them to charge a fee for the tiling and copying of claim deeds. 





~#*ks^t- 



112 



House of Representatives. 




y 



'OHN KEARNS, who for two terms 
has enjoyed the distinction of being; 
the solitary Democrat of the Allegheny 
county delegation, is one of the most 
hard-working and popular members of 
the House of Representatives. He was 
born May 10, 1856, and received his edu- 
cation in the public schools. He has been 
engaged in Pittsburg's great iron and 
steel industry for the past twenty years. 
At the election of November, 1892, Mr. 
Kearnswas returned without opposition. 
He is a member of the Committees of 
Municipal Corporations, Citj^ Passenger 
Railways, Ways and Means and Banks. 
On all of these bodies he is recognized 
as a force, because of his clear ideas and 
close application to business. Mr. 
Kearns does not pose as an orator, but 
when necessary makes a succinct and 
logical statement to the House that 
seldom fails to effect its object. He has given particular attention to the legisla- 
tive needs of the workers who form a large portion of his constituency. Early in 
the session he introduced a bill aimed at Pinkertonism and similar evils, and at 
the proper time secured a special order for its consideration in the House, making 
an argument which secured its passage practically without opposition. Mr. 
Kearns has also been making a plucky and determined struggle for the modiiica- 
tiou or repeal of the law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of oleomargerine, 
and hopes yet to see his elibrts crowned w^ith success. He has several other 
measures of considerable importance which have been progressing favorably. Mr. 
Kearns has alwaj'S taken an active part in the politics of Pittsburg, where his 
hosts of friends have rendered him a powerful factor in local struggles. At the 
Capitol his qualities of earnestness, candor and honesty have obtained for him the 
respect of his colleagues, and for a minority member have given him a wide in- 
flueuce for general legislation. 




House of Representatives. 



113 




SAMUEL MARTIN LAFFERTY, 
the senior member of the Allegheny 
county delegation, is a native of Elder's 
Ridge, Indiana county, and is in the 
sixtieth year of his age. He was edu- 
cation in the common schools of the State 
and is now extensively engaged in the 
live stock business. Mr. Lafferty is 
serving his sixth consecutive term in 
the House of Representatives, which is 
of itself proof of his popularity among 
his constituants whose Avishes and busi- 
ness interests have at all times been his 
first consideration during his legislative 
career. At the organization of the pre- 
sent session he was honored by the 
members of the Allegheny delegation 
with the nomination for Speaker of the 
House, a position which he is capable of 
filling with credit and ability. Mr. 
Lafferty is chairman of the Allegheny 
delegation and has always taken a deep interest in legislation affecting Pittsburg 
and Western Pennsj'lvania. He is chairman of the House Committee on Munici- 
pal Corporations and a member of the Committees on Insurance, Iron and Coal, 
and Vice and Immorality. 

Mr. Lafferty was a boatman on the Pennsylvania canal, running on section boats 
from Pittsburg to Philadelphia, from 1847 to 1852. lu 1879, he was elected a 
member of select council, Pittsburg, at the expiration of his term he was re-elected, 
serving until 1883, when he resigned to enter the Legislature* JJe is a firm be- 
liever in the doctrine of John Wesley, and with his wife and stQOl^ worship at the 
Emery Methodist Episcopal church, Pittsburg. For many years b^ has been ac- 
tively engaged in politics, always looking after the interests of the Republican 
party. He is a prominent member of the Masonic Paternity, the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows and other secret orders. He stands high in the Odd Fellows 
and has occupied all the important positions in its circles. 

Mr. Lafferty has resided in the Fifth Legislative district, which he represents, 
since 1864, before it was embraced in the city limits of Pittsburg and was known 
as East Liberty. He is not given to making long speeches on the floor of the 
House, but when he rises to speak he is always sure the attention of the entire 
House. He is an indefatigable worker and one of the most popular, yet reassur- 
ing members of the Legislature. 



Wf 



lU 



House of Representatives. 




W 



'ILLIAM M. CULBEKTSON, a 
Eepreseutative from the Fifth 
district of Allegheny county, was bora 
in Westmoreland county, 1856. Be- 
fore he was a year old his family re- 
moved to Pittsburg, in which city he 
has since resided. He was educated in 
the schools of Pittsburg and in the 
Western University, which institution 
he left in 1875. He was employed in a 
book store subsequently for several 
years, when he took a course in the 
National School of Elocution in Phila- 
delphia to develop a talent which he 
possessed. Mr. Culbertson is not a de- 
bater, but established a good reputation 
as an elocutionist in his cit3% and taught 
the art for several years. He is now 
connected with a firm engaged in the 
real estate business, conveyancing and 
examination of titles. Mr. Culbertson 
began the study of law with the firm of Moreland & Kerr, of Pittsburg, but he 
abandoned the idea of connecting himself with the profession. He represented 
his district in the common council of Pittsburg for seven years. In 1890 he re- 
ceived his first nomination as a candidate for the House, and his constituents ap- 
preciated his services so well that they sent him back to the Legislature. At the 
session of 1893 he was on the Corporations, Insurance, Legislative Apporiontment 
and other Committees. The priucijjal bills he introduced provided for the creation 
of a state board of dental examiners, the object of which was to protect the public 
from the operations of incompetent practitioners, and to authorize notaries public 
to satisfy themselves as to the identity of persons making acknowledgments to 
legal documents. Of Mr. Culbertson it may be truthfully said that Allegheny 
county never sent a more popular man to the Legislature. 



y^s^- 




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House of Representatives. 



115 




D 



AVID ENGLAND WEAVER, who 
part, represents the Fifth 
district of Allegheny county, was born 
iu Steuben ville, Jefterson county, Ohio, 
December 9, 1848. He attended the 
schools of his native city until thirteen 
years old, and after working a short time 
on a farm he entered the Stenbenville 
and Indiana railroad shops for the pur- 
pose of becoming a machinist. The es- 
tablishment having been removed about 
two years after he had started his ap- 
prenticeship he connected himself with 
the works of the company at Denuison, 
Ohio, where he was employed six months 
when he entered the Pittsburg Locomo- 
tive Works at Manchester and finished 
his trade. This was in 1866. Two 
3'ears subsequently he became an em- 
ploy^' of the American Iron Works and 
filled the position of machinist and roll 
turner until April, 1874, when he was appointed a storekeeper in the United States 
revenue service, which place he held until the fortunes of politics compelled him 
to surrender it to a Democrat selected under the administration of President 
Cleveland. Mr. Weaver then resumed work in the American Iron Works until 
the people of his district elected him to represent them in the Legislature in 1888. 
Not satisfied with thus complimenting him they have repeated the operation 
twice, and the beneficiary of their partiality seems to enjoy the bi-ennial perform- 
ance. During the recesses of the Legislature Mr. Weaver has been employed in 
the Allegheny county commissioners' office as state clerk. At the session of 1893 
he served on the Committees on Municipal Corporations. City Passenger Railways, 
Judicial Apportionment, Library and Vice and Immorality. 




116 



House of Representatives. 




EMMETT EMERSON COTTON, one 
of the members of the House who 
have given this body the distinction of 
being the ablest in its history for many 
years, was born April 4, 1854, in West 
Brownsville, Washington county, Pa. 
In his youth he alternated between the 
Avorkshop and the public schools, and a 
part of his education was imparted by 
private tutors. He read law with 
Messrs. Moreland & Kerr and was an apt 
student. On June 12, 1877, he was ad- 
mitted to the bar of Allegheny county, 
has been in active and successful prac- 
tice ever since and stands high with the 
legal fraternity of Pittsburg. He was 
counsel for the guardians of the poor of 
that city in 1883, 1884 and 1885. and is 
a member of the law firm of Cotton & 
Holman. Mr. Cotton is thoroughh' 
fiimiliar with legal questions, and legis- 
lation involving them is readily and clearly discussed by him. He is recognized 
by his colleagues as a keen, logical and convincingdebater on all subjects In which 
he takes any interest. Two years ago he had charge in the House of the Street 
Improvement bills, jjarticularly affecting Pittsburg, which became laws and have 
been put in operation and declared constitutional by the supreme court. At the 
session of 1893 he participated prominently in the discussion of the bill to provide 
revenue by the taxation of banks and offered an amendment to protect the interests 
of the State. Mr. Cotton, in 1877,ran on the Greenback-Labor ticket in Allegheny 
county for assistant district attorney, and although defeated by the Republican can- 
didate for the office, carried the strong Republican Senatorial district in which he 
resides. He remained in the ranks of the Greenbackers for several years, and in 
1881 presided at the convention of that party which nominated Thomas A. Arm- 
strong, of Pittsburg, for Governor of Pennsylvania. In 1884 he stumped West 
Virginia for James G. Blaine for President of the United States. He was elected 
to the House of 1891 and re-elected last fall. His father was a native of Virginia 
and located in Pennsylvania in 1803. Representative Cotton, at the session of 
1893, was a member of the General Judiciary and other important committees of 
the House. 



"^M 



House of Representatives. 



117 




JOHN WOODS NESBIT was born in 
J Sc 



South Fayette township, Allegheny 
county, Pa., May 12, 1840, and is of 
^icotch-Irish descent, his grandfathers, 
John Nesbit and Stephen Woods having 
emigrated to this country aliout the 
year 1790 from the north of Ireland. His 
lather, James McConnell Nesbit, and 
mother, Ann Eliza Woods, settled on 
the old homestead farm in South Fay- 
ette township in 1839. John W. was 
raised on the farm and educated in the 
common schools, working on the farm 
until August 23, 1862, when he enlisted 
as a private in D company. One hun- 
dred and Forty-ninth regiment, Penn- 
sylvania volunteers, which regiment 
was assigned to the " Bucktail brigade, " 
commanded by Colonel Roy Stone. He 
served in the Army of the Potomac un- 
til the close of the war, taking part in 
every engagement from the raid to Port Royal, to the flank movement at Dobney's 
mills, including Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Laurel Hill, North 
Alma. Cold Harbor, Spottsylvania, Petersburg and the Weldon railroad fight at 
Yellow Tavern. He was mnstered out as a sergeant June 24, 1865. At the close 
of the war he resumed forming as a business, and has continued in that business, 
in connection with insurance and contracting, up to the present time. He was 
nominated for Assembly on the Republican ticket and elected from the Sixth Alle- 
gheny Legislative district ; in 1880 re-elected for session of 1882. He served on 
the Committees of Ways and Means, Agriculture, Vice and Immorality, Railroads, 
Manufactures and others during these sessions, and as chairman of the Committee 
on Insurance during the sessions of 1891 and 1893. 

During the session of 1891 he was ai)])ointed by the Speaker of the House as a 
member of the committee to investigate the management of the Soldiers' Orphan 
Schools of the State, and January, 1893, appointed member of the Board of 
Trustees of the Pennsylvania Soldiers and Sailors' Home at Erie, Pa. 

He entered the National Guard of Pennsylvania August 14, 1875, as captain of 
company C, Fourteenth regiment, and still retains the position. He served six 
weeks at Pittsburg and Scranton during the riots of 1877, four months at Johns- 
town after the flood of 1889 (in charge of the military force on duty there), and 
two weeks at Homestead in July, 1892, the regiment being on duty there. Mr. 
Nesbit is a member of the Presbyterian church at Oakdale, Allegheny county; is 
active in local enterprises; assisted in the organization of the Oak Mutual Insur- 
ance Company April 21, 1874, and has been secretary of the company since that 
time; is a member of the Melrose Cemetery Company at Bridgeville; member of 
the Board of Directors Oakdale Academy Association, secretary of the Oakdale 
Cemetery Company, president of the Oakdale Armory Association, and at the 
head of the Oakdale Insurance and Real Estate Agency. He resides in Oakdale 
borough and manages his various interests from that point. 



118 



House of Representatives. 




MATTHEW McLANAHAN WILSON 
was born June 8, 1831, in Elizabeth 
township, Allegheny county, Pa. His 
father was a farmer and both his par- 
ents were of Scotch-Irish blood and 
Presbyterians by faith. They removed 
from Adams county, Pa., in 1784, to 
what was theu the western frontier, but 
is now Allegheny county. Pa. Mr. 
Wilson received his education in the 
common schools and engaged in the oc- 
cupations of farming and milling on the 
i-Avm on which he was born and con- 
tinued until 1887, since which time he 
has been in the livery business in the 
famous town of Homestead, Pa. Cap- 
tain Wilson, in August, 1862, unlisted 
as a private in company D, Fourteenth 
regiment, Pennsylvania cavalry. He 
was commissioned second lieutenant at 
the organization of the company, and 
afterwaid promoted successively to the positions of first lieutenant and captain. 
He was mustered out with the regiment at Fort Leavenworth in August, 1865, 
having served in the campaigns of Averili, Hunter and Sheridan. He also served 
as military inspector of cavalry and artillery horses in the department of West 
Virginia, by order of Secretary of War Stanton. He is a member and last year 
Avas commander of Post No. 207, G. A. R., at Homestead and is a member of Camp 
No. 1, Union Veteran Legion, at Pittsburg. Captain Wilson has occupied the 
offices of school director, taking an active interest in the school system, as town- 
ship assessor and burgess of the borough of Homestead. He was elected a mem- 
ber of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, from the Sixth Allegheney district, in 
November, 1892, by a flattering majority, his vote being the highest polled in the 
district. The complete vote was as follows: Wilson, 7,217; Nesbit, 6,997; 
Lynch, 5,681; Stevenson, 5,352; Campbell, 148; Conway, 142; Cole, 335; Stark, 
266. 

Captain Wilson is a member of the Committees on Legislative Appointment, 
Pensions and Gratuities, Iron and Coal, Centennial Affairs and Mines and Mining. 
He is the author of the bill appropriating !{^163,000 for the complete re-equipment 
of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, in conformity with the equipment of the 
soldiers of the regular army of the United States, which passed both Houses early 
in the session. He has been noted as one of the most attentive members to his 
legislative duties in the House during the session of 1893. 



House of Representatives. 



119 




JOSEPH T. RICHEY, one of the rep- 
J resentatives iu the House from Alle- 
gheny county, was born November 29, 
1844, in Economy township, Beaver 
county, Pa. His father was one of the 
founders of the Kepublican party in 
Lafayette Hall, Pittsburg, and his 
grandfather participated in the revolu- 
tionary war. Shortly after Representa- 
tive Richey's advent into the world his 
fixther removed with his family to Alle- 
gheny county. When a boy the subject 
of this brief sketch worked on a farm. 
He received a common school education 
and subsequently learned carpentry and 
engineering. At the age of twenty -two 
years he was married. In 1869 he as- 
sumed charge of the carpenter work and 
repairs at the Dixmont hospital and in 
1874 he was promoted by being ap- 
pointed engineer of gas and water 
works at the same institution. From 1874 to 1882 he acceptably filled the position 
of postmaster at Dixmont. He was also ticket and freight agent for eight years. 
He has been president of the school board of Kilbuck township for the past fifteen 
years. In 1882 he was appointed deputy sheriff by William McCallin, which 
place he has held ever since. In 1886 he was appointed director of the poor of 
Allegheny county, and in 1887 elected to the same oflice for three years, followed 
in 1890 by a re-election for a similar term to the same office. He has always been 
an active Republican and has the confidence of his constituents without regard to 
party. His course in the House has uniformly met the approval of those who sent 
him to the Legislature. He is a member of the Committees on Agriculture, Counties 
and Townships, Education and Library. 




120 



House of Representatives. 




SAMUEL WALLACE, representing 
the Seventh district of Allegheny 
county, was born in the part ot Pine 
township, which is now McCandlass 
township, Allegheny county. Pa., in the 
district he now represents, on May 31, 
1839. Mr. Wallace's father was one ot 
the pioneer settlers in the northern part 
of Allegheny county, having located, 
with his father, on a farm in that part 
of Pine which is now McCandlass town- 
ship in the year 1798, and lived there 
until his death in his eighty-seventh 
year. The elder Wallace was American 
by birth and of Scotch-Irish descent. 
He was a justice of the peace for many 
years. Mr. Wallace's mother was born 
in Ireland, but came to America in her 
early youth. She lived to the ripe age 
of ninety-one years. Mr. Wallace was 
educated iu the common schools. At the beginning of the civil war he enlisted, 
on April 24, 1861, in company G, Fourteenth regiment, Indiana volunteers, being 
at that time temporarily located in that state. Ee-enlisted in the Fourth Penn- 
sylvania cavalry, and was honorably mustered out of service at the close of the 
war. He is a charter member and past commander of Gen. A. A. Humphreys Post 
545, Department of Pennsylvania, G. A. R. Mr. Wallace was transcribing clerk 
of the House during the session of 1873 and 1874 and speaker's clerk of the Senate 
of the session of 1877. From that time until 1880 he was engaged in farming, and 
since then has given his attention to insurance, and the oil and natural gas busi- 
ness. Mr. Wallace is a member of the Milvale borough school board and has been 
president of the board the last two terms. He was elected to the Legislature in 
1892 by a handsome majority, the vote of the district being, Wallace, R., 5,607 ; 
Richey, R., 5,531; Robinson, D., 3,060. Mr. Wallace is a member of the Commit- 
tees on Education, City Passenger Railways, Bureau of Statistics and Compare 
Bills. The bills he has introduced this session are all local. 




House of Representatives. 



121 



^ JKL 
JHBHfefe 



SAMUEL EAKIN STEWART, rep- 
resenting the Eighth Legislative 
district of Allegheny county, was born 
in Allegheny City, Pa., June 30, 1856. 
His father was a farmer of American 
birth and ol Scotch -Irish origin, and 
was a college mate of the late Hon. 
James G. Blaine at Washington — Jefter- 
son college. His youth was spent on 
his father's farm in Allegheny county. 
He was educated in the common schools 
and at Washington and Jefterson col- 
lege, Washington, Pa., where he gradu- 
ated in the year 1879. He read law 
with Major R. E. Stewart, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in Pittsburg, Pa., in 
1880, where he practiced his profession, 
having an office at 134 Fifth avenue. 
Mr. Stewart was elected to the House 
of Representatives of Pennsylvania by a 
large majority in 1886, and was re- 
elected by flattering and increased majorities to the session of 1889, 1891 and 1893. 
His majority at each election being larger than at the preceding one. At the 
opening of the session of 1893, he was assigned by the Speaker as a member of the 
Committees on Judiciary General, Elections, Congressional Apportionment, Muni- 
cipal Corporations and as chairman of the Committee on Library. He introduced 
several important bills relating to legal process. One of these is an act extending 
the jurisdiction of justices of the peace in certain cases. Another limits the dura- 
tion of the lien of the debts of decendents, other than those of record, on their 
real estate. A third authorizes the recording of instruments in writing acknowl- 
edging payment and satisfaction of mortgages, ratifying satisfactions heretofore 
made, and providing that certified copies thereof may be admitted as evidence. 
He also introduced and had passed bills making appropriations to the McKeesport 
City Hospital and the Western Pennsylvania Institute for the Deaf and Dumb at 
Edge wood, Pa., both in Mr. Stewart's district. Mr. Stewart is of quiet disposition, 
but very popular with his associates and throughout his district, where he is best 
known. He takes an active interest and a working hand in Republican party 
politics in his district, in county, state or national campaigns and the local affairs 
of Verona borough, where he lives. He has private interests in oil and gas in ad- 
dition to his professional practice. 







122 



House of Representatives. 



SAMUEL BRUCE COCHRANE, who 
is serving his third consecutive 
term as member from Armstrong county, 
was born January 17, 1860, in Pine town- 
ship (now Boggs), Armstrong county. 
He was lirst elected in 1888, and had 
for his colleague Andrew J. Elliott. In 
1890 he was re-elected with Dr. J. W. 
McKee, who has since died, and in 1892 
was chosen for a third term, being the 
first member to be elected for a third 
term in the history of the county. He 
Avas reared on a farm and engaged in 
agricultural pursuits during his earlier 
years, following the occupation of a 
long line of ancestors. He attended the 
public schools and afterward became a 
teacher, principal and superintendent. 
He attended Dayton Academy, Edinboro 
Normal School and Central College of 
Indiana. At the last-named school 
made a special stud,y of survejing and engineering. Mr. Cochrane says for himself : 
" I have done nothing either in or out of the Legislature of sufficient importance 
to warrant me in boasting of it. Have spent most of my life on the farm, which 
I find best adapted to my degree of intelligence and education, as well as to the 
size of my feet and hands. When I came here first my constituents expected me to 
pass laws myself, if necessary, to right every wrong in the commonwealth. In 
fact I agreed to do it. but the task has been sad and fruitless. Surely my consti- 
tuents have been disappointed. I have no intimation that they will compel my 
return to the House. They never did insist on it. and the probability is that at 
the close of this session I will return to my farm, lay aside my celluloid collars 
and cuffs, and the bad habits acquired here, set a hen in my plug hat, present each 
of the schools of my district with a SmuU's Handbook and an agricultural report — 
the greatest spoils of my present office — and devote the remnant of a somewhat 
chequered life to the cultivation of corn and hay only diversifying that quiet voca- 
tion by occasionally taking a lean on my hoe handle long enough to look back and 
heave a sigh as I gaze once more on the shattered anticiimtions of statemanship. " 





House of Representatives. 



123 




FKANK MAST, one of the two Ke- 
publican members from Armstroug 
count}', was born in Clarion county. Pa., 
March 2, 1855. His parents moved to 
Armstrong county in 1859, and young 
Mast received his education in the 
schools of that county. In early life he 
followed mining and railroading. In 
1880 he entered the mercantile business, 
in which he is still engaged. He was 
elected a member of the Republican 
County Committee three times in suc- 
cession, elected delegate to the State 
Convention in 1888, chosen township 
auditor and judge of election and is at 
present a member of the school board. 
In the fall of 1891 he was elected a 
member of the House to fill the unex- 
pired term of J. M. M'Kee, deceased, 
without opposition and was re-elected 
the following year by a majority of 
over 600. At the session of 1893 he served on the following committees : Corpora- 
tions, Elections, Agriculture, Mines aud Mining and Health and Sanitation. Mr. 
Mast's great-grandfather, John F. Mast, was born in Germany about the year 1750 
and came to this country when a young man, with two of his brothers, all of whom 
settled in Bucks county, Pa. He died in Northampton county in 1815. His 
grandfiither, Jacob Mast, was born in Northampton county in 1798 and moved to 
Clarion county in 1833. where he died in 1877. His father, Isaac, who is still 
living, was also born in Northampton county and followed blacksmithing. Mr. 
Mast was married to Miss Letitia Haj's, of Armstrong county, July 25, 1869, and 
is the father of four children — Master Wade, Miss Wave, Master Blaine and Miss 
Flo. 




4^^v 



124 



House of Representatives. 




TEA FRANKLIN MANSFIELD was 
1 born June 27, 1842, in Poland. Ohio. 
His great-grandfather, John, served in 
the Sixth Connecticut in 1776 and 1777 
and in the Twenty-sixth United States 
Regulars up to 1814. For coolness and 
punctuality in storming redoubt No. 10, 
at Yorktown, he was promoted to cap- 
tain. His grandfather, Ira, was an early 
settler on the Western Reserve and 
served as captain in several expeditious 
against tlie Indians. His father, Isaac 
K., was a merchant, having stores in 
Poland and Philadelphia. Ira F. at- 
tended school in Poland until he was 
fifteen years old when he was placed to 
learn the moulder's trade in Pittsburg. 
He was married December 11, 1872, to 
Lucy E. Mygatt, of Poland, and they 
have three children — Kirtland M., Mary 
L. and Henry B. In August, 1862, Mr. 
Mansfield enlisted as private in company H, One hundred and Fifth Ohio; he was 
promoted orderly sergeant, first and second lieutenants and for " conspicuous 
bravery " at the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge breveted cap- 
tain and assigned as A. A. Q. M. 14 A. C. He marched with "Sherman down ta 
the sea," took part in the campaigns through North and South Carolinas and was 
present at the grand review at Washington. He bought out the Darlington Cannel 
Coal Mines in 1865, operating them successfully with other large bituminous plants. 
He made a systematic survey of his cannel coal for the Second Geological Survey, 
discovering over six hundred varieties of fossil plants and insects. In view of his 
services he was elected member Philosophical Society of Philadelphia. Served as 
justice of the peace and treasurer of Darlington township for eighteen years. He 
was member of the Legislature at the sessions of 1881 and 1893. He is trustee in 
the Beaver College and Griersburg Academy, director in the Rochester National 
Bank, Electric Light Company and is a thirty-second degree Mason. He is an 
amateur photographer, having a fine collection of views, Indian relics and imple- 
ments from mound builders. In politics he trains with the "Old Guard " of the 
Republican party. 




House of Bepresentatives. 



125 




r: 



ACOB WEYAND was bom in Bea- 
rer county, Pa., on March 29, 1828. 
His father, Henry Weyand, followed 
the occupations of teacher and farmer, 
and for many years was a leading and 
influential citizen of his immediate 
neighborhood. The subject of this 
sketch received his early education in 
the common schools of his native county, 
excepting a six-months' term in the 
Beaver Academy. In after years his oc- 
cupation consisted chiefly in publishing 
and editing newspapers in Beaver 
county and in Carroll county, O. He 
was identified with the Beaver Argus 
for fourteen years as editor and pub- 
li.sher. The editorial chair of this jja- 
per had previously been filled by a 
number of the ablest men the county 
has produced, including United States 
Senator Quay and State Senator J. S. 
Kutan. When the war broke out Mr. Weyand was living in Ohio, and at that 
time was the owner and editor of the Free Press in Carrollton, O. Loving his 
country dearly and seized with the martial spirit of the times, he sold out his pa- 
per, raised a company of volunteers and took his men to Camp Mingo, on the 
Ohio river. Here they were attached to the One hundred and Twenty-sixth Ohio vol- 
unteer infantry and subsequently to the Sixth corps, Army of the Potomac. He 
took an active part in sixteen battles, including The Wilderness, Spottsylvania 
•Court House, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. Subsequently his regiment was un- 
der command of Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, when Early's forces were 
beaten, driven back and shattered in the campaign of 1864. Mr. Weyand was 
twice wounded during the war — once at Cold Harbor, Va., and again at Monocacy, 
Md. While in the service he was breveted major and lieutenant colonel for "meri- 
torious conduct in the field." He has always been a staunch Republican, and was 
•one of the delegates to the convention from Bedver county which organized the 
Republican party of the United States in Pittsburg in 1855. He was elected to 
the Legislature by the citizens of Beaver county in 1892, and took his seat in the 
House in the following January. While in that body he introduced a joint reso- 
lution instructing our members of Congress to vote for and use their influence for 
"the passage of a bill then pending in the United States House of Representatives, 
authorizing the Secretarj' of War to cause a survey to be made for a ship canal con- 
necting the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio river. The resolution was adopted. 
He also introduced a number of bills which eventually became laws. Mr. W. un- 
fortunately lost his faithful and beloved wife, Victoria Adams AVeyand, just pre- 
vious to his election as a representative in the Legislature. He has four children 
living — Emma, wife of H. W. Reeves, of Beaver Falls; Edwin S., an attorney at 
ithe Beaver bar, and Blanche and Paul, who are still members of the hou.sehold. 



126 



House of Representatives. 




JOHN CESSNA, of Bedford, is the son 
of a Bedford county farmer, and the 
eldest of a family of twelve. He -was 
educated in the common schools, then in 
a military academy, and in 1842 he 
graduated f.om Marshall college at Mer- 
cersburg. In this institution, since 
united with Franklin college, at Lan- 
caster, he taught Ijatiu a while and then 
studied law, being admitted to the bar 
in 1845. In 1847 Jeremiah S. Black, 
and his eight associates on the bench, 
appointed Mr. Cessna revenue commis- 
sioner for Somerset, Bedford, Blair and 
Franklin counties. In 1849 the Demo- 
crats of Bedford sent him to the Legisla- 
ture. He went at once to the front, 
was re-elected in 1850 and made Speaker 
before he had completed his thirtieth 
year. He soon attracted the attention of 
the Democratic leaders and in 1856, at 
the personal request of James Buchanan, he went to the National Democratic Con- 
vention from Buchanan's native district, was secretarj'^ of the Pennsylvania dele- 
gation and helped secure him the nomination that made him president. He made 
the motion organizing the Charleston Convention, to which he was a delegate, and 
was chairman of the committee on rules and organization. He introduced the 
anti-unit rule, got it through his committee and had it adopted by the convention, 
thereby giving to his political idol, Stephen A. Douglass, thirty-six votes. When 
the convention re-assembled at Baltimore he made the nomination substituting 
Governor Todd, of Ohio, as chairman in place of Caleb Cushing, of Massachusetts, 
who expressed his sympathy with the withdrawing or seceding members who sub- 
sequently nominated .lohn C. Breckeuridge for the presidency. 

While an ardent and active Democrat, Mr. Cessna was not a pro-slavery man 
As early as 1849 he was a delegate to the State Democratic Convention at Pitts- 
burg. He was a member of the committee on resolutions that framed and had the 
convention adopt a resolution against the extension of slavery, which caused the 
Pennsylvania Democracy to be read out of the party by nearly all the State Demo- 
cratic Conventions of the South. In 1861 he found himself at variance with the 
dominant element in his party and began making war speeches. He was elected 
to the legislature that year as a LTnion Democrat, re-elected in 1862 and was again 
Speaker in 1863. He voted for Curtin in 1863, for which he was practically read 
out of the ranks of the Democracy, and was soon an active Republican. He was 
chairman of the State Republican Committee in 1865. The same year he was 
chosen president of the board of trustees of Franklin and Marshall College to suc- 
ceed James Buchanan — has been unaminouslj' re-elected at each meeting for twenty- 
eight years. In 1868 he was elected to Congress and re-elected in 1872. He helped 
nominate Grant at Chicago in 1868, Hayes at Cincinnati in 1876 and in 1880 was 
one of the "306." In that jear he was chairman of the State Republican Com- 
mittee. In 1891 he was on the State Republican ticket as delegate-at-large to the 
proposed constitutional convention and received the highest vote cast, except for 
the two who were also on the Labor ticket. After a lapse of thirty years he re- 
entered the House and is one of the most active members of that body. 



House of Representatives. 



127 




W. 



C. SMITH was born in Bedford. 
Pennsylvania, June 2, 1845, the 
oldest of nine brothers, all of whom are 
living but one, and all of whom are Ee- 
publicans. He was educated in the 
common schools, mainly, and attended 
one terra at the Millersville State Nor- 
mal in the year 1866. He taught school 
in Bedford county six terms and one 
term in Lancaster county in the fall and 
winter of 1866-7. His first vote was 
cast in Strasburg township, Lancaster 
county, in 1866, for Gen. Geary, lor 
Governor, and Thaddeus Stevens, for 
Congress. He returned to Bedford 
county, and in 1870 was admitted to 
practice law in the courts of that county. 
He served two terms as justice of the 
peace in Bedford borough. In 1881, in 
connection with John Lntz, Esq., of 
Bedford, he started the Bedford Ee- 
puhUcnn, which, in 1884, was consolidated with the Bedford Inquirer. He remained 
as editor and proprietor of the Icepuhlkan and Inquirer till the fall of 1886. 
In January, 1889, he purchased the Everett Press, a Republican i)aper at Everett, 
Bedford county, and a month later purchased the Everett Leader and consolidated 
them. The zeal and success with which the Press and Leader, under his man- 
agement, has 1)een conducted has given it recognition throughout the county as the 
leading Republican paper in it. 

In 1873 Mr. Smith was nominated by the Republicans for district attorney of 
Bedford county, and after a close and spirited contest was defeated by 290 of a 
majority for Humphrey D. Tate, the present private secretary to Governor Patti- 
son, the county being then Democratic. 

In 1886 he receivea the instructions of the Republicans of Bedford county for 
the State Senate in the Thirty-sixth district, composed of Bedford, Somerset and 
Fulton counties. After several conferences he gave the nomination to W. S. 
Alexander, of Fulton county. In 1892 there were ten candidates contesting for 
the Republican nomination for House of Representatives and two to be nominated. 
Hon. John Cessna and Mr. Smith received the instructions over the other eight 
combined and were l)oth nominated on the first ballot as instructed for by the dis- 
tricts. After one of the severest political battles ever fought in Bedford county, 
Mr. Smith was elected by nearly 300 majority over the highest opposition. He 
has been chairman of the Republican County Committee under both Chairmen 
Quay and Cooper, of the State Committee ; he has been secretary of County Com- 
mittee often ; was a member of the State Committee twenty years ago and has 
always been an active Republican, stumping the county every general election 



since and iucludinj 
him. 



1868, and working in every line of political work assigned to 



128 



House of Representatives. 




y 



[OHN B. GOODHART, the son of a 
shoemaker, Avas born in Reading, 
Berks ctounty, November, 1839, and is 
now representing his native city in the 
Legislature. He received his education 
in the common and high schools in 
Reading. After finishing his education 
he followed the occupation of boot and 
shoemaking, a trade taught him by his 
father, Avhich he kept at for several 
years. In years gone by the shoe- 
maker's shop was the convenient resort 
of politicians, and while young Good- 
hart was yet an apprentice, he learned 
many things relating to statesmanship, 
so that when he became of age he was 
ready to take an active part in the 
councils of his party. He was several 
times elected as delegate by the Demo- 
crats ot Berks county, to represent them 
in State Conventions, and besides was 
always on hand directing matters in County Conventions when his friends were 
interested. As a reward for his activity in politics, he was appointed Deputy 
Warden of the Berks County Prison, a position which he held for some time, when 
he was appointed by Register of Wills Fegley, as clerk of the orphan's court. 
In this position he made such a creditable record for himself that he was re-ap- 
pointed by Register Strunk, and held it until brought out by the citizens of the 
city of Reading for and elected to represent them in the Legislature. He was also 
a member of City Councils and served on the School Board for four years. All of 
this time he was an active member of the standing committees of his party in 
both city and county. Mi\ Goodhart has presented only one bill to the Legislature, 
outside of the Reading Hospital and Home for the Friendless appropriation bills, 
session of 1893, and that was for the study of vocal music in the public schools, 
by the method of sight reading. Mr. Goodhart has very little to say on legisla- 
tive matters, but is a deep thinker and conscientious and has the respect of his 
fellow members. He is serving on the following committees, Accounts, Munici- 
pal Corporations and Representative Apportionment. 




House of Representatives. 



129 



1 OHN R. LAUCKS, who in part rep- 
J resents the city of Keadinji in the 
pjerks county delegation, was born in 
Boyertowu, Berks county, July 18, 1839. 
His father, who was a saddler by trade, 
sent him to the common schools of Read- 
ing. AVhen the war broke out the young 
man enlisted and served for three years 
as corporal ot company B, Eighty-eighth 
regiment of Pennylvauia volunteers. 
After being discharged he enlisted in 
company D, One hundred and ninety- 
eighth regiment, Pennsylvania volun- 
teers, and served until the close of the 
war in 1865, then being promoted in 
rank for services on the field. He was 
engaged in nearly all the principal 
])attles of the war, and though in many 
tight places during that time escaped 
without injury. At the close of the 
Avar he again located in Reading, and 
was appointed lumber inspector of Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, 
a position that he has held ever since. He was a member of common council in 
the city of Reading, Berks county, for one year. For eighteen years he has been 
secretary of the Junior Fire Companj' of that city, and also has held prominent 
positions in other organizations. Mr. Laucks is a person disposed to be very 
quiet, having nothing in particular to say ou subjects before the Legislature, but 
watches carefully all measures, so that his vote at the proper time could be re- 
corded on the side which he in his best judgment considered right. He did not 
introduce any bills for the consideration of the Legislature, not being pressed in 
that direction by his constituency. He is very attentive to his duties and a good 
worker in committee, and served on the following standing committees of the 
House : Public Buildings, Banks, Pensions and Gratuities, Counties and Town- 
ships and Bureau of Statistics. 




130 



House of Representatives, 




SAMUEL B. KEPPEL, of Sinking 
Spring, Berks county, was boru in 
Honeybrook township, Chester county, 
Pa., December 10, 1846. He was edu- 
cated in the common schools and 
Waynesburg Academy and Millersville 
Normal School and taught school in 
Lancaster and Berks counties for six 
years. He then engaged in telegraphing 
for tlie Philadelijliia and Reading Eail- 
road Company for two years, and from 1872 
to 1S77 was a clerk and telegraph oper- 
ator (special line) for the Moselem Iron 
Company, Moselem, Berks county. He 
removed to Sinking Spring on April 1, 
1877, and entered the coal, lumber and 
grain business. April 1, 1881. in con- 
nection with the Sinking Spi'ing busi- 
ness, engaged in the same business at 
Robisonia, Pa., under the firm name of 
Keppel & Reber, continuing until April 1, 1886, when Mr. C. D. Reber retired, 
the business being conducted at that place by Mr. Keppel since that time. In 
April, 1892, he formed a stock company under name of Birdsboro Milling Com- 
pany (Limited), Birdsboro, Pa., and leased the mill of the Brooke Milling Com- 
pany, having a capacity of one hundred and fifty barrels of flour daily, and is 
serving as secretary and treasurer of the company. He was elected a member of 
the House of 1891, having received 11,115 votes, a majority of 7,034, Re-elected 
to the term of 189."^ by 11,663 votes, a majority of 7,556. He served on the follow- 
ing committees : Banks, Insurance and Manufacturers. He represented the Demo- 
cratic party at different times as State delegate and as school director. He has 
been a director of the Citizen's Bank of Reading, Pa., since its organization in 
May, 1888, is a director in the Manatawny Mutual Fire and Storm Insurance 
Company, organized February, 1893, and has been agent since 1881 for Mutual 
and Stock Fire Insurance Companies. He has a large amount of fire insurance 
represented in his sec.tion of the State. Mr. Keppel has made a good legislator 
and his constituents made no mistake in electing him for a second term. 



House of Representative!<. 



131 




F. 



LEONARD REBER is the son of a 
carpenter anrl was born near Shoe- 
makersville, Berks county, December 
15, 1846. His ancestrj^ were of the old 
(ieriuan stock who settled in Berks 
county shortly after the ervolutionary 
war, and who since that time have been 
part of the sturdy j'eomen who by their 
industry made it one of the richest 
counties in the commonwealth. Mr. 
Reber received his early education in 
the schools of Berks county and finished 
it in the Keystone State Normal .School 
at Kutztown, in the same countJ^ 
After graduating in the Normal School 
he commenced teaching, which he fol- 
lowed for twenty-four years, eleven of 
which he spent as teacher of No. 8 
school in Perry township. He has always 
been an active Democrat, being a dele- 
gate to the county convention a num- 
ber of times, a member of the standing committee for twelve years, and for eight 
years was a school director in his township. Served much of this time as secre-" 
tary of the board. He always took an active interest in Grange matters and was 
Master of Grange No. 29 for ten years and deputy sheriff of Berks county for four 
years. He is also a member of Perry Lodge 1055, I. O. O. F. Mr. Reber is serv- 
ing his second term in the Legislature, having been elected to the .sessions of 1891 
and 1893. His majority at the last election was 7,557 over his Republican oppo- 
nent, selected from the same portion of Berks county. He is a member of the fol- 
lowing .standing committees of the House : Education, Agriculture, Printing and 
Retrenchment and Reform. He has presented to the Legislature the following 
measures : To prevent the spread and introduction of obnoxious weeds ; to repeal 
section .seventeen of the Penal Laws of 1791 ; empowering grand juries to impose 
costs in misdemeanors on aldermen, justices of the peace, constables, detectives and 
other ofUcers, and also for the location, con.struction and maintenance of public 
highways, etc. During the war of the rebellion Mr. Reber served in the Construc- 
tion corps under Captain Morris, of Delawai'e. 



132 



House of Representatives. 



1 ACOB B. HERZOG, representing the 
J Second district of Berks county, was 
l)orn in Kocklaud township, Berks 
county, February 10, 1860. He was 
educated in the public schools of his 
native township and in the Oley 
Academy. He worked on a farm, 
taught school for seventeen succes- 
sive terms in the townships of Rus- 
combmanor and Oley, served as or- 
ganist at various churches for nine years, 
and is by trade a painter. He served 
as chairman of Democratic club of Oley, 
was delegate to various county and 
State conventions, and was appointed 
secretary of the standing committee ot 
Berks county by Chairman Herbst in 
the fall of 1890, and iu that campaign 
did excellent service for the Democracy, 
the county giving a majority of 8,901 
for Pattison, the largest in its history. 
He has lield this position for three years. He was nominated for the Legislature on 
the first ballot over eight competitors and elected by a majority of 7,554 votes. He 
served on the Committees on Public Buildings, Printing and Library, and per- 
formed his legislative duties with an ej'e single to the public welfare. The interests 
of the Democratic party, of which he is an ardent member, have always been safe 
in his hands in the House. 




House of Representatives. 



183 




B' 



(ENJAMIN LIGKTNER HE WIT 
keeps a very close watch ou legis- 
latiou, and few men in this couimon- 
Avealth have had a more stirring and 
eventful career than the ex-Speaker of 
the House. Mr. Hewit was born in 
Petersburg, Huntingdon county, Pa., 
.June 4, 1833, of German and Scotch- 
Irish parentage. Nicholas Hewit, Sr., 
his great-grandfather, served in the 
Revolutionary war and lived to survive 
those perilous days until 1837. On the 
maternal side he is descended from 
Martin N. Grafius, a famous pioneer of 
the Juniata valley, born May 2, 1722. 
Mr. Hewit graduated from the public 
schools of Hollidaysburg, Pa., and after- 
wards jjrepared for college under the 
tutelage of Professor Wilson at Tusca- 
rora Academy and Professor Williams 
of the Hollidaysburg Academy. He 
graduated at Princeton College in 1857. He then commenced the study of the 
law with the Hon. S. S. Blair, and was admitted to the bar of Blair county in 
October, 1856. The next year after his admission he was elected to the office of 
district attorney, and served in that office two terms, or six years. Then came the 
trying timesof war, and he enlisted as a private in company A. Twenty-third regi- 
ment Pennsylvania infantry. Later on he enlisted as a private in company A, in- 
dependent battalion, to resist the invasion of the Rebels into the State of Pennsyl- 
vania. During 1863, 1864 and 1865 he was field paymaster in the United States 
Army, with the rank of major, and was honorably discharged in September. 1865. 
When gentle peace resumed its sway he returned to the practice of his profession 
at Hollidaysburg, and in 1870 was elected to the Legislature. In 1871 he Avas 
reelected and was made Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. In 1872 he 
was chairman of the Committee on the Revision of the Civil Code. He was a 
member of the House in 1878, 1879, 1880 and 1881, and in 1878 and 1879 was 
chairman of the Judiciary General Committee. He was elected Speaker during 
the session of 1880 and 1881. Again he was elected to the Legislature in 1892 for 
the session of 1893, and was placed on the Committees on Judiciary General, 
Ways and Means, Game and Fish and made chairman ot Legislative Apportion- 
ment Committee. He introduced a bill at this session which he denominated in 
a speech upon it " by all odds the most important bill introduced during this 
session." It provided penalties for the adulteration of food or drink, which was 
passed unanimously — a very high coupliment ; also a bill to punish the giving 
of false fire alarms or the destruction of fire, telephone or telegraph wires. It will 
be seen that Mr. Hewit has ever taken an active part \n politics. He is also some- 
thing of a farmer, owning considerable farming interests in Dakota and Blair 
countv. He has two sons, O. H. Hewit. a prominent lawyer in Duluth. and H. 
D. Hewit, a farmer in Dakota. In 187:; he was appointed on the Fish Commission 
by Governor Hartranft and served until 1882. He selected and organized the 
hatcheries at Monetto, Corry and Allentowu. He was chairman of the celebrated 
Evans war claims committee. In 1879, with his compeers, Wolfe and Mapes, he 
prevented the passage of the Riot 1)111. Avhich proposed to take four millions from 
the treasury in payment of claims, which were subsequently settled for >;l,600,000. 
In 1881 he received several votes for the United States Senate. 



134 



House of Representatives. 




D' 



|R. ANDREW S. STAYER, of Roar- 
ing Springs, Blair county, was born 
in South Woodberry township, Bedford 
county, Pa., May 21, 1848. On his 
father's side he comes of French an- 
cestry. His great-grandfather was bora 
in France, and when but a lad accom- 
panied Gen. Lafayette to this country. 
He served through the revolutionary 
war, and afterward settled in Bedford 
county, where he died. Dr. Staj'er's 
maternal ancestors were Swiss. His 
great-grandfather, Snowoerger, having 
emigrated from Switzerland to Bedford 
county, Pa. Young Andrew was reared 
on the old Stayer homestead, in Bedford 
county, and after receiving a common 
school education became himself a teach- 
er at the age of seventeen and during 
the ensuing three years divided his time 
between teaching school in the winter 
and attending the Bedford Normal school in the summer. He attended the Mil- 
lersville Normal school in the summer of 1869. When twenty-one years old he 
began the study of medicine with Dr. Charles Long, of South Woodbury, Pa. In 
the winter of 1870 he attended a course of medical lectures at the Michigan State 
University, (Ann Arbor), and thereafter for two years studied with Dr. Long. 
After a course of lectures at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, he graduated 
at that institution March 12, 1873. He located in Roaring Springs, Blair county, 
as a practicing physician. Despite the fact that a number of physicians who had 
tried the village and abandoned it as an unprofitable field, Dr. Stayer made up his 
mind that honest, industrious vitality must win him a permanency, and the re- 
sult of his labors has shown that he was right and his name is known and honored 
among the people of his part of the State. On June 30, 1870, he married Rosa K. 
Brumbaugh, of Middle Woodberry township, Bedford county, a descendant of the 
Brumbaughs Avho have been for many generations identified Avith the history of 
Western Pennsylvania ; three children have blessed the union — Edgar Virgil 
Sinou, born 1874; Morrison Andrew Clay, born 1882; Clara Mabel, born 1884. Dr. 
Stayer has always been con.spicuous as a participator in matters affecting public 
progressive interests and especially in educational afiairs. In 1880 he was a Sena- 
torial delegate from Blair and Cambria counties to the Republican State Conven- 
tion. In Sunday school interests he has ever been an earnest worker and as a 
leading spirit in local associations he has long been a prominent figure. In Felj- 
ruary, 1880, Dr. Stayer was commissioned hy Governor Hoyt assistant surgeon 
Fifth regiment National Guard ot Pennsylvania, and was subsequently promoted 
to surgeon, holding the position for twelve years. He is now interested in the 
Roaring Spring Planing Mill Company and president of the Park Hotel Company 
at Roaring Springs. In 1884 Dr. Stayer was a candidate for the Republican nomi- 
nation for Senator. He was defeated by only one vote. In 1890 he aspired to 
memberships in the House and easily secured an election. So well did he perform 
his duties that he was re-elected in 1892 by a larger majority than the two years 
previous by 800. He is a member of the Committee on Appropriations, Elections, 
Military, Public Health and Sanitation, and Retrenchment and Reform, of which 
he is chairman. He has introduced at the present session bills making an appro- 
priation to the Altoona Hospital, governing foreign building and loan associations 
in this State, and to establish a training school for feeble-minded children in the 
western part of the State. 



House of Representatives. 



135 



ALBERT SCOTT NEWMAN was bora 
in Easton township, Wyoming 
county, on February 16, 1842. In 1847 
he moved with his parents to Canton, 
Bradford county, where his father en- 
gaged in the mercantile business, and 
where he received his education in the 
the pul)lic and private schools. At the 
lirst call of President Lincoln for troops 
he enlisted in the service and served 
three months. Again in 1864, at the 
time of Lee's invasion, he enlisted and 
was in the Twenty-sixth regiment, com- 
manded by Colonel Jennings. In the 
centennial year Mr. Newman, with 
others, formed the Enterprise Manufac- 
turing Company at Troy, Pa., for the 
manufacture of agricultural implements 
and powers, and which is yet in a 
flourishing condition. He was elected 
burgess of Troy borough and delegate 
to the State Convention which nominated Robert Mackey for State Treasurer. In 
1880 he moved to Smithfield, Bradford county, where he is now engaged in the 
mercantile business and farming, and for twelve years was in the school board of 
that borough. At the last election he Avas returned as one of the three members 
from Bradford county by a majority of nearly three thousand. He was placed 
by Speaker Thompson on the Committees of Manufactures, Military, Library, 
Public Buildings and Bureau of Statistics. Among the bills introduced by him 
is one compelling assessors to deduct the liens against a man's realty from the as- 
se.ssed valuation, and also a bill prohibiting physicians attending poor patients 
and after getting out an order of relief and collecting his fees from the coirnty. He 
is a'member of the agricultural delegation. During the session of 1893 he was 
called to Herrick, Bradford county, to attend the funeral of his grandfather, who 
died at the greefi old age of 101 years. INIr. Newman attends faithfully to his du- 
ties iucommittee as well as in the House, and is a useful, conscientious member. 





136 



House of Represeritatives. 




FRANK NATHANIEL MOORE was 
born in Windham township, Brad- 
ford county, April 11, 1858. He went 
through the common schools of his na- 
tive county and afterwards took a two 
j^ear's course at the Wyoming Seminary, 
Kingston, Pa. He comes of revolution- 
ary ancestry, his grandfather having 
been a veteran of the war of 1812. From 
the green hills of Vermont the family 
came down through the Empire state in 
Conestogas, stopped awhile near Owego, 
N. Y., and at last settled in Bradford 
county. Like his father before him, 
Frank is an extensive dealer in stock 
and farms it on a large scale. In 1883 
he went to Kansas and started a cattle 
ranch. For five years he played cowboy 
and became an expert horseman. The 
lessons in horsemanship leaiued on the 
plains he has not forgotten, and there 
are few if any better horseback riders in the State to-day than he. In 1885 he 
came back to his native hills more than ever convinced that there is no soil like 
that of old Pennsylvania. In 1891 he was elected a justice of the peace, the only 
township olfice he has ever held. 

The people of Bradford county are, perhaps, the most restless and independent 
of any in the commonwealth. They dislike anything that smocks of bossism. In 
1890 they concluded to rebuke the leaders and smash the party machine. A 
fusion ticket, composed of independent Republicans and Democrats, Avas nomi- 
nated and was triumphantly successful, sweeping away the usual magnificent Re- 
publican majority. It has required diplomacy to win the people back to their old 
allegiance to the Republican party. The fusionists tried the same experiment in 
1892 that had worked so well in 1890, but through the influence of such conscien- 
tious Republicans as Mr. Moore, the '"Old Guard" wheeled into line and he was 
elected Representative of that county by nearly 3,000 majority. He is on the Com- 
mittee on Agriculture, Compare Bills, Retrenchment and Reform and Vice and 
Immorality. He introduced a bill providing for the taxation of dogs and protec- 
tion of .sheep, which was conceded to be the best of the many bills introduced on 
that subject, and which was taken as the basis of the measure that finally passed 
the House. He also introduced a school book bill which provided for a commis- 
sion consisting of the Governor, Superintendent of Public Instruction and three 
practical teachers to be appointed by the Governor. These five to constitute a 
commission to buy school books, providing they could be purchased at satisfactory 
prices from the publishing houses. If not, to advertise and procure copy rights, 
have the books printed by public contract and furnished to the people at cost of 
publication. Like nearly all other school book bills this one was negatived in 
committee. Mr. Moore is one of the youngest men in the House, and is a hard- 
working, conscientious member, adhering strictly to his duties. When he makes 
a speech ui>on any measure he says what he has to say in a clear and forcible 
manner and then stops. 



House of Representatives. 



137 




FLOYD LEE KINNER, one of the 
Republican members from Bradford 
county, hails originally from Flatbrook- 
ville, New Jersey, where he was born 
May 27, 1856. His father, while Floyd 
was but a lad, went to Pike county and 
engaged in the lumber business. He 
was an intense Union mau and while 
celebrating the victory achieved by the 
Union forces at Gettsburg incurred the 
displeasure of Southern sympathizers 
whose attitude drove him from this in- 
hospitable clime. He came over to the 
more congenial atmosphere ot Bradford 
county and settled at Ulster and later 
at what formerly was Tioga Point, in 
the early days of the commonwealth the 
rendezvous of the Six Nations, and now 
called by the more classical name of 
Athens, and engaged in the mercantile 
business. At his death he was suc- 
ceeded by his son Floyd, the subject of this sketch. Floyd received his education 
in the schools of Athens, in which he has ever taken a deep interest. He has 
served in his town in the capacity of school director and Avas a member of the 
board at the time the present magnificent school building was erected, which is 
considered the finest in Bradford county. He was al.so one of its promoters. After 
going through the schools of Athens he graduated at the Eastman Business College 
at Poughkeepsie. In 1892 he was elected a member of the House of Representa- 
tives by a handsome majority, particularly as the county had been represented in 
the session of 1891 by two Fusiouists and a Democrat. He is on the Committee 
on Railroads, of which he is secretary; also a member of City Passenger Railways 
Committee, Vice and Immorality and Manufactures. He introduced a bill (and 
secured its passage) granting an appropriation to the Robert A. Packer Hospital, 
located at Sayre, of §10,000; also a bill making appropriation necessary to defray 
the expenses of transportation of Union veterans to Gettysburg on July 1 next, to 
to participate in the service commemorative of the great battle fought at that his- 
toric place, and a resolution asking for an investigation to inquire into the irregu- 
larity of charges in rates of transportation upon coal and plaster over the Lehigh 
Valley railroad from Cox ton to points in Wyoming and Bi'adford counties. Mr. 
Kinner is one of the quiet and hard-working members who believes the most efiS- 
cient and practical work is done in committees. He is distinctively a business 
man, one of the conservative majority which .should always be most consulted in 
the enactment of our laws. 



188 



House of Representatives. 




0' 



OLIVER H. FEETZ, M. D.. is a son 
of William and Catharine (Hoflford) 
Fretz, and was born in Richland town- 
ship, Bucks county, April 9, 1858. where 
he lived until he was ten years old, 
Avheu he removed with his parents to 
Quakertown. He received the best 
school advantages the borough afforded, 
and was subsequently sent to Muhlen- 
berg College, Allentown, Pa., to com- 
plete his education. He began the 
stud\f of medicine in 1879, first under 
that able practitioner and scientist, Dr. 
I. S. Moyer of Quakertown; afterward 
in the same year he entered the Jeffer- 
son Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa., 
and after pursuing a three years' graded 
coarse of studies he graduated March 
30, 1882, receiving the degree of Doctor 
of Medicine. He began the practice of 
medicine at Salfordville, Montgomerj' 
county, and is now successfully engaged in the drug business at Quakertown, and 
has a large office practice. In 1886 he took a post-graduate course of instruction 
at the Philadelphia Polyclinic and College for graduates in medicine, fitting him- 
self as a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. In 1889 he completed 
a course in pharmacy at the National Institute of Pharmacy of Chicago, 111. Dr. 
Fretz received the appointment of borough physician of Quakertown in 1888 and 
has been re-appointed annually since. He is a member of the Pennsylvania State 
Medical Society, the Bucks County Medical Society, the Lehig hValley Medical 
Association, the American Academy of Political and Social Science of Philadelphia, 
the Pennsylvania Forestry Association and the Bucks County School Directors' 
Association, of which he served as vice president. Since 1886, when he was elected 
as school director of Quakertown borough, he has been closely identified with the 
educational interests of his town and the county. He Avas re-elected school direc- 
tor in 1889, and served one year as treasurer and three years as president cf the 
board. He was a delegate to the state convention of school director held several 
years ago at Harrisburg. In 1890 Dr. Fretz was nominated on the first ballot for 
Assembly by the Bucks county Democratic convention and elected by nearly 300 
majority. Dr. Fretz represented his county in the Legislature of 1891 with marked 
ability and to the utmost satisfaction of his constituents. He was renominated 
by acclamation and re-elected by a largely increased majority. In the session of 
1893 he served on the following committees: Educational, Municipal Corporation, 
Public Health and Sanitation, and Congressional Apportionment. Dr. Fretz intro- 
duced a number of bills in the Legislature, the most important of which was an act 
to authorize the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to grant permanent 
state teachers's certificates to graduates of recognized literary and scientific colleges. 



House of Represeiitatives. 



189 




C 



\\RLILE SHEPHERD, one of the 
three representatives from Bucks 
county, was born 'October 19, 1834, in 
Buckingham township, of that county. 
Like his fother, who was born nearly a 
hundred years ago in the same township, 
Mr. Shepherd has followed the occupa- 
tion of farming, a pursuit in which he 
takes great interest. He has for eighteen 
years been superintendent of the Friend- 
ship Sunday school in his township and 
is an elder in a Presbyterian church in 
Doylestown. This is the first time Mr. 
Shepherd has been a member of the 
Legishiture, but the faithful manner in 
which he has represented his constitu- 
ents will likely result in his return to a 
seat in the House. In Bucks county 
the Democratic party, of which Mr. 
Shepherd is a member, makes its selec- 
tions from the upper, lower and middle 
districts, and the subject of this brief sketch represents the latter. The normal 
Democratic majority in it is about 209, but notwithstanding the bitter fight made 
against him because of his temperance principles he received a majority of more 
than .500 over his Republican opponent in the middle district. Mr. Shepherd is a 
Granger and a member of the Legislative Agricultural delegation. He received 
his education in the public schools of his native township in the winter months, 
the rest of his time having been devoted to work on his father's farm. While he 
is a temperance man he is not a prohibitionist. As this is his first term in the 
Legislature he was assigned to only three committees — Centennial Affairs, Geological 
Survey and Accounts. He introduced no bills, but has carefully watched legisla- 
tion and intelligently and fearlessly voted on all questions under consideration. 
He was regular in his attendance on the se-ssions of the House and showed a par- 
ticular interest in the bill read in place in the Senate by Senator Ross to ensure 
the construction of a turnpike from Doylestown to Chalfant, a distance of five 
miles, a much needed improvement. 



-ij> «Mi— ); 



^•HIWB"— — 6- 



140 



House of Representatives. 




TAMES L. FA.BIAN, Bucks, was born 
J May 5, 1835, in the First precinct of 
the Twenty-sixth ward, Philadelphia, 
ormerly Passyunk township, and was 
educated in the common schools. His 
father was a basket-maker and a voter 
in this precinct for sixty-two years. Mr. 
Fabian learned the trade of a basket- 
maker and worked at it until the panic 
of 1857, when hewent to work in the old 
navy yard, working under the adminis- 
tration of President Buchanan until 
1858. He then began to raise truck in 
which he was engaged until 1874. In 
this year Mr. Fabian removed to Bucks 
and turned his attention to the grooving 
of seeds, onion sets, tobacco and the 
raising of horses and other thoroughbred 
stock. He bred and raised the noted 
trotting colts, Jim F, record 2:26] at 
four years old, and Brother Jim, record 
2: 29 J at three years old, which were received on the Half-mile track at Trenton, 
New Jersey. Mr. Fabian's stock and seed farm, on which he resides, is one of the 
finest and best-equipped in Eastern Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Fabian served as a school director in which he lives from 1878 to 1881. In 
November, 1890, he was elected to the Legislature, receiving the highest vote ot 
any candidate on the county ticket. He was re-elected in 1892. 

For many years IVIr. Fabian has attended the Bucks County Democratic Conven- 
tions. He has always been an active and enthusiastic Democrat, as was his 
father. He has seven sons, six of whom are voters and Democrats. As far back 
as he can trace, Mr. Fabian's family were Democrats. He is a hard-working, 
thoroughly-reliable business man, and in connection with his other enterprises he 
has been engaged in the oderless business in Philadelphia since 1860. Mr. Fa- 
bian is a member of the Committees on Public Health and Sanitation, Vice and 
Immorality, Constitutional Reform and Library. 




House of Bepresentatives. 



141 




J 



AMES B. MATES was born on liis 
father's farm in Muddy Creek town- 
ship, Butler county, Pa., on September 
2, 1859. His fatlier soon afterward re- 
moved to a farm in Penn township in 
the same county and there Mr. Mates 
spent the year's of his youth, in the 
vicinity of the afterward famous Thorn 
Creek oil field. His parents were both 
born in Western Pennsylvania. Mr. 
Mates was educated in the common 
schools and at Witherspoon Institute, 
Butler, Pa. After leaving this institute 
the young man taught school from 1880 
to 1884, during which time he read law 
under the direction of ex-Judge Charles 
McCandless and was admitted to prac- 
tice at the Butler county bar in 1883. 
He opened a law office in Butler, Pa., in 
1885, and has since practiced his profes- 
sion there and been identified with the 
interests of that city. Mr. Mates was married to Miss Nordena Wilson on August 
t^l, 1887. He has always been an active Republican and has several times served 
on the county committee, being chairman of that organization in 1887. He was ap- 
pointed Census Supervisor for the Tenth district in 1890, and discharged his duties 
in a very satisfactory manner. He was elected a member of the General Assembly 
-of Pennsylvania in November, 1892, by a handsome majority over his Democratic 
opiK)nent. He is an active member of the committee on Judiciary General and 
also a member of the Committees on Railroads, Elections, Library and Accounts 
and has been ranked upon the floor as one of the useful, though unobtrusive mem- 
bers during the session. Among the bills introduced by Mr. Mates was one making 
an appropriation to the Connoquenessing Valley hospital at Butler, Pa. 




142 



House of Representatives. 




D 



I AVID B. DOUTHETT, of Butler 
county, is a native Pennsylvanian, 
having been born near Brownsdale, in 
the county in which he represents, on 
October 27, 1840. His parents were 
Joseph and Rebecca (Magee) Douthett, 
well known residents of that locality 
and highly esteemed by their neigh- 
1)ors and acquaintances. They always 
lived on the farm near Brownsdale. 
Mr. Douthett was educated in the com- 
mon schools and at Witherspoon Insti- 
tute at Butler, Pa. He then taught 
school from 1857 until 1861, when he 
enlisted at Brownsdale for three years 
in company H, One hundred and second 
regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers, and 
served under General McClellan, Burn- 
side, Hooker, Meade and Grant. He 
took part in the battles of Williams- 
burg, Fair Oaks, White Oak Swamp, 
Charles City Cross Roads, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Williamsport, Second Freder- 
icksburg, Salem Heights, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Chantilly, the Wilderness and 
many other battles and skirmishes. He re-enlisted with his regiment near 
Brandy station, Va., and was given veteran furlough for thirty days, after which 
he rejoined his command, being finally mustered out *with his regiment near 
Washington, D. C, June 28, 1865. Mr. Douthett was slightly wounded at 
Williamsburg — Fort Magruder — on the Peninsula, and his hat was perforated by 
a minnie ball at the second battle of Fredericksburg. He was severely wounded 
in the battle of the Wilderness, May 5, 1864, receiving a wound through the left 
thigh. He was treated for two months at Findlay Hospital, Washington, D. C 
then at Philadelphia and afterward at Pittsburg, Pa., and when only partially re- 
covered rejoined his regiment before Petersburg, Va. , and participated in the 
closing campaign of the Army of the Potomac with General Grant. Mr. Douthett 
was justice of the peace for ten years, a school director for twelve years, and presi- 
dent of the board of school directors of his county for a number of years. He 
served three terms as postmaster at Brownsdale, was mercantile apraiser of Butler 
county in 1890, and was appointed by Governor Pattison as a delegate to the 
Farmers' National Congress, which met at Sedalia, Mo., in 1891. He is a member 
of Captain William Stuart Post No. 573, G. A. R., and of Encampment No. 45, 
Union Veteran I.,egion. He was nominated on the Republican ticket for the 
Legislature in 1862, and elected by a flattering majority, receiving 225 more votes 
than any other candidate, and running 100 ahead of the national ticket of his 
party. Early in the session Mr. Douthett had a resolution passed condemning the 
effort to secure the repeal of the act of Congress prohibiting the opening of the 
World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago on the Sabbath. Later, he secured the 
passage, on special order, of his bill to regulate and establish the fees to be charged 
by justices of the peace, aldermen, magistrates and constables to secure uniform- 
ity throughout the state. Mr. Douthett is always active in the politics of his 
county, and his political rewards hy popular vote attest the estimation in which he 
is held better than anything that can be said. 



House of Representatives. 



143 




JACOB C. STINEMAN, of Cambria, is 
J a native of Richland township, Cam- 
bria county, Pa., where he was born 
April 9, 1 842. He was raised on a farm 
and educated in the common schools. 
When seventeen years old Mr. Stine- 
man began teaching school, teaching in 
the winter and working on his father's 
farm in the summer. Mr. Stinemau's 
grandfather was one of the early settlers 
of Cambria county locating on the 
waters of the South Fork of the Cone- 
maugh river in 1800. At one time the 
elder Stineman owned most of the land 
which in after years was covered by the 
waters of the South Fork reservoir, or 
Conemaugh lake, the breaking of which, 
in May, 1889, caused the losses of many 
lives and destruction of much valuable 
property in the Conemaugh valley. Mr. 
Stineman's grand parents on his mother's 
side, whose names were Croyle, settled in that part of Cambria county known for 
many years as Croyle's Mill, Croyle township, now Summerhill borough about 1798 
or 1799. Here his mother, who is still living at the advaned age of ninety-two 
years, was born. Mr. Stineman's father died about twenty years ago. 

Mr. Stineman enlisted in company F, One hundred and ninety-eighth regiment 
Pennsylvania volunteers, First brigade. First division of the Fifth army corps, 
Army of the Potomac. He served until the close of the war, being one of the 
victorious army who witnessed Lee's surrender to General Grant on that eventful 
Sunday morning, April 9, 1865. At the close of the war Mr. Stineman returned 
to his father's home and engaged in farming for a number of years. In 1868 he 
began working in the coal mines. He was soon advanced to mine foreman and 
subsequently to superintendent of the mines in which he first commenced work- 
ing. In 1878 he began operating coal mines for himself and is now the owner of 
much valuable coal property, being one of the largest individual producers of 
bituminous coal in the state. His mines are situated along the line of the Penn- 
sj'lvania railroad at South Fork. 

Mr. Stineman served fifteen consecutive years as a school director. He is a di- 
rector of the Citizen's National Bank of Johnstown. He has never been an aspir- 
ant for political honors or an office seeker, although having been chosen to a number 
of offices of trust and importance. In 1885 he was the Republican candidate for 
sheriff of Cambria county. He was defeated, but his vote was so far in excess of 
that of his colleagues on the Republican ticket that he was re-nominated in 1888. 
This time he was elected by a handsome majority and was the sherifi' of the county 
at the time of the Johnstown flood. In 1889 Mr. Stineman was a delegate to the 
State Republican Convention. Two years subsequent he was chairman of the 
Cambria County Rejjublican committee. He was elected to the Legislature in 
November, 1892, receiving the highest vote of any candidate of either party. 

Mr. Stineman is a faithful and conscientious legislator. He is one of the most 
conspicuous, yet mode.st members of the House of Representatives. He is a mem- 
ber of the Committees on Mines and Mining, Iron and Coal, Judiciary Local, Fish 
and Game and Bureau of Statistics. 



144 



House of Ftepreseniaiives. 




TAMES J. THOMAS, the Deinoceatic 
J Kepresentative from Cambria county, 
was born October, 1836, in Munster 
township, in that county. He never 
attended school except to learn to spell, 
l)ut acquired a practical education at 
the hands of his father, who taught 
school in Cambria county from 1820 to 
1869 and fitted his son at his home for 
the same occupation. Representative 
Thomas became a pedagogue in 1858 
and has followed teaching and farming 
ever since that period. He has thirty- 
four terms of school teaching in Cambria 
county to his credit, during which he 
educated many young men who have 
held important positions in the State 
and country. He tilled several local 
ofiices in his tovynship and in 1876 was 
elected to the House from Cambria 
county for two years and served in that 
body in 1877 and 1878 with John Downey, of Johnstown. He was United States 
storekeeper during President Cleveland's first term in the Twenty-third district, 
comprising a large portion of Western Pennsylvania, and filled the place for over 
four years. He is a member of the State Board of Agriculture and has worked at 
farming, in conjunction with school teaching, since he attained his majority except 
in two years, when he carried on the lumber business in West Virginia. Speaker 
Thompson appointed him a member of the Congressional and Judicial Apportion- 
ment, Vice and Immorality and Constitutional Reform Committees, and he also 
served on the sub-Committee on Congressional Apportionment with Chairman 
Lawrence and Representatives Richmond, Cotton and Ritter. He was vice presi- 
dent of the agricultural delegation in the Legislature, which had for its president 
Representative Cessna and for its secretary Senator Critchfield. He introduced 
during the session the bill endorsed by the State Sportsmen's Association chang- 
ing the time for the shooting of squirrels from September 1 to October 15, whose main 
purpose was to prevent early hunting and thus protect pheasants and quail from 
slaughter. He also introduced a bill authorizing supervisors of townships to pay 
for the material necessary to erect wire fences to prevent snow-drifts in the coun- 
try districts, which have been found to work the most satisfactory results, and 
was a member of the sub-committee of the agriculture delegation which drafted 
the Nesbit road bill, and was afterward appointed by the same organization one of 
a committee of five to take charge of the Niles tax bill on the floor of the House. 



House of Representative!'. 



145 



TRVIN K. HOCKLEY, who represents 
1 Cameron county as a member of the 
House, was born in Reading, Pa., in 
1852. His ancestors were of German 
stock and settled in Pennsylvania 
shortly after the revolutionary war. 
His father is a farmer. Mr. Hockley 
received his early education in the 
schools of Lycoming and Northumber- 
land counties and finished it in the 
county normal school at Muncy. He 
was a school teacher for seventeen years, 
twelve of which as principal of the Em- 
porium high school, extending from 
1875 to 1887. He was married to Miss 
Debbie Logan, of Emporium, in 1877 
and has two children, a girl and boy. 
From 1887 to 1891, he was treasirrer of 
the Emporium board of trade. He is 
now merchant and coal dealer and fur- 
nishes builder's supplies at Emporium. 
He has been county and borough auditor and was chairman of the Democratic 
county committee of Cameron county in 1891 and 1892. He was a delegate to the 
Democratic state convention which nominated E. H. Bigler, of Clearfield, for State 
Treasurer. Although Cameron county is Republican, and he had for his opponent 
Captain J.C. Johnson, chairman of the* Judiciary Committee in the House of 1891, 
Mr. Hockley was elected by fifty-four majority. He is a member of Emporium 
lodge 382, F. and A. M., Emporium lodge 984, I. O. O. F. (which lodge he rep- 
resented in the grand lodges of that order at Allegheny in 1890 and at Sunbury 
in 1892), Emporium lodge 1()3, A. O. U. W., and the German Harri Garri. He is 
a member of the new Game and Fish committee and also of the committees of Con- 
tennial Affairs, Geological Survey and Bureau of Statistics, and introduced a bill to 
repeal the special act in Cameron county relative to the collection of taxes, re- 
Cjuiring the collector to add ten per cent, for collection if taxes are not paid within 
thirty days from the date the duplicates are placed into his hands, and a bill to 
provide for the election of county school superintendents by popular vote. 





10 



146 



House cf Representatives. 






W 



ILLIAM F. BIEKY, of Carbon 
comity, is a native of Lehigh 
couuty, having been bom at Catasau- 
qua, May 15, 1863. When five years of 
age he removed with his father, who 
had some lumbering interests in Carbon 
county, to a place called Hickory Run, 
in that county, and in 1876 he moved to 
Weissport, Carbon county, where he has 
resided ever since. Until he was six- 
teen jears old he attended the public 
schools, and after he had given up his 
studies he worked in planing mills and 
in furniture factories. At his majority 
he entered the drug business, in which 
he is still now engaged. He was school 
director in his town for six years, and 
has at all times taken great interest in 
the development of the public school 
system. Mr. Biery is a Democrat and 
takes part in all the campaigns of his 
party. He has never aspired to any prominent political office, but, responding 
to the demands of his constituency iu Carbon county, he submitted to the nomina- 
tion as the representative from his county to the House, and was elected in the 
fall of 1892 to serve during the sessions of 1^93 and 1894. At the session of 1893 
Mr. Biery carefully watched the vast interests of the Carbon county industries. 
He was assigned to the following House committees : Mines and Mining, Manu- 
factures and Legislative Apportionment. 



#«) 




House of Representatives. 



147 




JOHN T. McCOEMICK, of Centre 
J county, was born at Nittany Hall, 
Walker township, January 23, 1849. 
His father was a cooper by trade, but 
relinquished this business and became a 
farmer, purchasing a farm and tilling it 
himself. Mr. McCormick, senior, re- 
moved to Furguson township, near 
State College, Centre county, where his 
farm was located and young McCormick 
was sent to the common schools and 
passed through the regular course of 
studies then in existence, and at their 
completion he was proffered a scholarship 
at the Slate College, but it was refused, 
as Mr. McCormick preferred to engage 
in active business. 

The McCormick ancestry are of Irish 
extraction, but came to America many 
years ago. The subject of this sketch 
has always been engaged in farming, 
owning at tlie present time a valuable tract of seventy-five acres in Centre county, 
which is under excellent cultivation. He has always been a Democrat, and has 
been on many occasions honored by his party with official position. He has 
been school director ; was for three successive terms elected as triennial as- 
sessor for his township; has been elected to the liosition of overseer ot the poor, 
and in 1891 was elected a delegate to the Democratic State Convention. He was 
elected one of the members of the House in 1890, receiving a majority of over 
1,200 votes over his highest opponent, and for the present term he was re-nomi- 
nated by practically the unanimous vote of the county convention and re-elected 
by a largely increased vote over his previous election. He has presented a bill to 
the present Legislature making an appropriation for the support of "The State 
College," and is greatly interested in its successful passage; besides he takes great 
interest in all measures pertaining to the agricultural welfare of the state. He 
takes an active part in all the party contests of his county, and especially so in 
the party contests of his own township, in which his farm is located, and devotes 
much of his time and personal attention to the public schools of his portion of the 
state. ^Ir. ^McCormick does not participate in the debates of the present session 
except upon questions in which he has an interest, and he is especially watchful in 
all matters that affect the agricultural welfare of his constituents. In apportion- 
ing to him the work of the House, he has been assigned to the committees on Agri- 
culture, Library, Judicial Apportionment and to Pensions and Gratuities. 



148 



House of Representatives. 




J 



AMES SCHOFIELD was born near 
Belfost, Ireland, March 20, 1848, and 
resides at Bellefonte. His parents came 
to Ireland with William of Orange and 
took part in the rebellion of 1798. His 
grandfather, Jacob Schofield, was one of 
the prime movers and leaders in the 
organization of theyoemanry of Ireland. 
At the age of six years Mr. Schofield 
was sent to school but left after six 
years and began learning the trade of a 
harness-maker in Belfast, where he was 
soon recognized as one of the most 
aptest and most competent working- 
men. Being of a lively disposition, 
frank and honest, he soon became a par- 
ticular favorite among the men. Hear- 
ing much of the advantages to be had 
in America, he bade adieu to old Ire- 
land on April 27, 1867, and left for this 
country from the city of Londonderry, 
arriving in New York on May 10. After wandering about for some time he went 
to Birmingham, Huntington county, where he secured employment in the lead 
mines for over a year. This gave Mr. Schofield his start in life. Having earned 
a little money he located in Bellefonte in the spring of 1868 and worked at 
his trade as a harness-maker. Two years later he returned to New York, where 
he secured employment in a harness shop. Bellefonte seemed to be a more desira- 
ble location, and one j'ear later he returned to the town and began on a small 
scale the manufacture of harness supplies, in which business he has been engaged 
ever since. Like his ancestors, he always was prominent in politics, and shortly 
after his location in Bellefonte Avas elected to the school board for three years. He 
was then elected for three successive terms as overseer of the poor, but resigned 
this oifice June 20, 1891, to pay a visit to his mother country. After spending 
some time in Ireland he returned and, November 8, 1892, was elected to the House 
of Representatives over one of the best citizens of the county by a majority of 959. 
lu the House he has been a eredit,able Representative and succeeded in having the 
bill to elect tax collectors in boroughs and townships for three years passed. He 
Avas popular in the Legislature as a Representative Irishman ; was ready to per- 
form his public duties and crack a joke with his fellow-members. 




House of Representatives. 



149 




J' 



[OSEPH G. WEST was born in East 
Pikeland township, Chester county, 
Pa., May 22, 1834. His early life was 
spent on the farm of his father, David 
West, from which he attended the pub- 
lic school until he was seventeen years 
of age, when he was sent to Strodie's 
Seminary, near Lenape, Chester county. 
Here he pursued his studies for one 
term, and the following year he at- 
tended Oakdale Seminary at Pughtown, 
Chester couaty, at which institution he 
continued his studies for two years. 
The following year, after completing 
his studies at Oakdale Seminary, was 
spent in teaching in the public school 
at Jonestown, Lebanon county, Pa. 
The avocation of teaching being dis- 
tasteful to Mr. West, he turned his at- 
tention to the study of medicine with 
Dr. Morris Tussell, of Chester Springs, 
Chester county, and commenced to attend lectures at the University of Pennsyl- 
vania in the fall of 1857, from which institution he was graduated in the month 
of March, 1860. The next September he began the practice of medicine at Kem- 
blesville, Chester county, and continued it at the same place until he turned it 
over to his son, Dr. F. B. West, in 1887. He has always been an unswerving Re- 
publican, but was held in such esteem by the citizens of his township that he was 
continually re-elected to the office of school director for a term of fifteen years, 
although the district is strongly Democratic. In 1890 he was nominated and elected 
a member of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania from his county, and 
was re-elected in 1892 to the same office. After relinquishing the practice of 
medicine and his drug business to his son in 1887, he removed to his farm, which 
is beautifully situated on the outskirts of the village of Kemblesville, where he 
resides. 




150 



House of Representatives. 



DAVID HOOPES BRANSON, one ot 
the Representatives in the House 
from Chester county, was born in Mill- 
town, East Goshen township, Chester 
county. Pa., August 31, 1827. He was 
educated in the subscription schools of 
that day and Strode's Academy. He 
taught school several j'ears, was a clerk 
in the office of recorder of deeds dur- 
ing the term of Edward Hibbard, is a 
farmer and dealer in fancy stock and has 
for many years been closely identified 
with agricultural interests. He has also 
been prominently connected with the 
management of the Chester County and 
Oxford Agricultural societies and is now 
first vice president of the Pennsylvania 
State Agricultural Society. His record 
for growing large crops and raising fine 
lancy stock is not surpassed in the state. 
The once mammoth oxen, known as the 
"Chester County Mammoth Roans, " and the famous bullock, "General Grant," 
were raised and fed on his farm in Brandywiue township, Chester county. He 
has grown 127 2-8 bushels of shelled corn to the acre, and last year his highest 
yield was 120 bushels and ten pounds to the acre, specimens of which have been 
shipped to the World's Fair for competition with the cereals of this and other 
states. In 1882 he shipped through the United States consul to London ninety 
barrels of selected corn especially for seed to test the possibilities of the foreign 
climate for growing Pennsylvania corn. Mr. Branson was elected to the House of 
Representatives from Chester county in 1891 and 1893 without opposition from his 
district. During the session of 1893 he introduced among others bills to reduce 
the legal standard of a bushel of potatoes to fifty-six pounds and to appropriate 
$100,000 for the purpose of purchasing grounds by the state on which to erect build- 
ings for the conducting of annual exhibitions of the State Agricultural Society and 
other agricultural organizations. Mr. Branson served on the Committees of Ap- 
propriations, Agriculture, Counties and Townships. Centennial Affairs and Library, 
and in 1891 on Agriculture and various other important committees. In view of 
his long and successful connection with farming and live stock raising he has been 
assigned a position in the Agricultural Department at the World's Fair by Director 
General George B. Davis, chief of that department at Chicago. 





House of Representatives. 



151 



D SMITH TALBOT, of Chester 
• county, has taken a leading posi- 
tion in the Legislature since he first be- 
came a member at the session of 1889. 
He was born in Honeybrook township 
November 19, 1841. He is a .son of Calob 
P. and Elizabeth Buchanan Talbot. Mr. 
Talbot's father was a soldier in the war 
of 1812 and his ancestry took an active 
part with the colonist in the revolu- 
tionary war against Great Britain. In 
the war of the late rebellion five of the 
Talbot boys were in the Northern army 
at the same time, two of whom lost 
their lives in the struggle for right 
against wrong. He was reared upon a 
farm. He comes from a family that is 
a landmark in Chester countj' and which 
has produced a number of distinguished 
men. Having obtained an rudimintory 
education in the public schools, Mr. 
Talbot was sent consecutiveh' to the academies at Morgautowu, Waynesburg aud 
Parkersburg. Having completed his education, Mr. Talbot passed an examination 
for a school teacher's certificate and for eight years taught in the jjublic schools of 
Chester county. During the Lee invasion of Pennsylvania Mr. Talbot enlisted in 
the Forty-second Pennsylvania regiment for the three month's service. After his 
discharge from the army he became a student at law and on April 16, 1870, he was 
admitted to the bar of Chester county and sabsequently to the bars of Delaware, 
Mifflin and Schuylkill counties, in which he had clients. Mr. Talbot comes from 
a race of politicians and early identified himself with the Eepublicau party. He 
has reijeatedly been a delegate to county conventions and in 1885 was a senatorial 
delegate to the State convention. In 1887 he was elected bj' the borough council 
the solicitor for the borough of West Chester. In 1892 he was nominated for State 
Senator to fill a vacancy, but was defeated through the ajiathy of the Republican 
voters of the county. He was first elected to the Legislature in 1889 aud has 
served continuously since. In the session of 1891 Mr. Talbot was named as chair- 
man of the Committee on Elections, which committee was one of the most important, 
politically, of the session. Mr. Talbot is the author of a number of important 
measures in the Legislature and is universally regarded as one of the strong men 
of the House. 





152 



House of Bepresentatives. 




DANIEL FOULKE MOORE, of Phce- 
nixville, was born July 24, 1841, in 
Upper Merion township, Montgomery 
county. Mr. Moore's father is a leading 
citizen and agriculturist of Montgomery 
county, where the ancestors of hi» 
mother, Phoebe Foulke Moore, located 
in 1698, being a part of the Welsh 
Quaker colony that settled in South- 
eastern Pennsylvania at that time. The 
early life of Mr. Moore was spent upon 
his father's farm, following the usual 
agricultural pursuits and attending 
public schools in the winter. Subse- 
quently in 1856 one term was spent at 
private school in West Chester. The 
balance of his educational opportuni- 
ties were had at Gwynedd boarding 
school, where he spent three winters. 
Having learned the art of telegraphy, 
Mr. Moore, in the spring of 1862, entered 
the employ of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company as an extra op- 
erator. He was stationed at Reading, Harrisburg and other important points, 
filling the position also of train dispatcher and otherwise proving his ability in 
these important and responsible positions. 

Mr. Moore enlisted August, 1862, in company E, One hundred and Twenty-eighth 
regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers, for nine months. He was afterward assigned to 
the First brigade. First division of the Twelfth army corps, and participated with 
his regiment in the battles of Antietam and Chancellorsville. He was honorably 
discharged May, 1863, at the expiration of his enlistment. A few weeks later he 
re-enli.sted " for the emergency " during the Gettysburg campaign, serving nearly 
four months in the Thirty-first regiment of that line. He decided to again re- 
enlist for the balance of the war, but at the earnest solicitation of General Super- 
intendent Nichols, of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, he aban- 
doned his plans and re-entered the employ of that company. Mr. Moore was sta- 
tioned at Phoeuixville in November, 1863, as train dispatcher, which position he 
retained until 1870, when he became a partner in the firm of Caswell & Moore in 
the stove, tin and roofing business, in which he is still engaged. He has been 
chosen burgess of Phrenixville, which is largely Democratic politically, a distinc- 
tion that but few Republicans have enjoyed the past quarter of a century. 

During the period of reorganization of the National Guard after the close of the 
rebellion Mr. Moore was appointed Assistant Adjutant General on the staff of 
General J. R. Dobson, commanding the then Tenth division, with the rank of 
lieutenant colonel. He has always been an enthusiastic Republican. He is a 
birthright member of the Society of Friends. He was elected a member of the 
House of Representatives in November, 1892, from the Northern district of Chester 
county, receiving the highest vote cast for any candidate on the Republican legis- 
lative ticket. He is a member of the committees on Accounts, Bureau of Statistics, 
Library, Insurance and Education. Mr. Moore has introduced a number of bills 
and is actively interested in the Agnew local option measure, the bill to abolish 
capital punishment, civil service reform, Phcenixville hospital bill and all educa- 
tional and reform measures before the General Assembly. 



House of Representatives. 



153 



HENRY N. HESS, M. D., member of 
. the House from Clarion county, was 

^0^^ ^~N^ born in Maysville, that county, July 

W^ ^m 13, 1854. His father, who was a miller, 

■ 'Jl^k ^'^^ born in Dauphin and his mother in 

■ <«>^b- sa,.^^^^B Schuylkill county. Both were of German 
'**^^^^^^^^ parentage. In 1828 they emigrated west 

and settled at Newmaysville. Dr. Hess' 
father carried on the milling business 
lor many years, and in 1840 his first 
mill was destroyed by flood and in 1860 
another by storm. Representative Hess 
was taught in the district schools and 
the Corsica and West Millersville Acad- 
emies. He was engaged in the profes- 
sion of school teaching for six years. In 
1882 he graduated at the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore. 
He has practiced medicine at Fryburg, 
Clarion county, for eleven years, and 
served as school director for three years, 
was secretary of the board one year and treasurer two years. He was a delegate 
to the State convention at Scranton which nominated Robert E. Pattison for Gov- 
ernor. He was elected to the House from Clarion county in 1890 and 1892 by ma- 
jorities of 1,384 and 1,250 respectively. At the session of 1891 he strenuously op- 
posed the medical examiners bill and received the credit of having defeated it from 
the State Medical Association. At that session he served on the committees of 
Judiciary, Local and Public Health and Sanitation, and at the session of 1893 on 
the Appropriation, Banks and Banking, and Public Health and Sanitation Com- 
mittees. Class legislation has invariably found in Representative Hess an uncom- 
promising foe. He was appointed on the sub-committee of the committee on Ap- 
propriations, which visited the flooded districts of Oil City and Titusville, and the 
hospitals at Meadville and Brookville, to ascertain the merit of claims for appro- 
priations. He introduced a bill to appropriate 875,000 to the State Normal school 
of the Thirteenth district. Dr. Hess has passed all chairs in the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows and in 1890 attended the sessions of the Grand Lodge at 
Pittsburg. 





154 



House of Representatives. 



TJENRY CYPHERT is one of the two 
A A Democratic represeutatives from 
Clarion county. He was born Septem- 
ber 8, 1836, and, like his fother, has de- 
voted much of his time to agricultural 
pursuits. His paternal grandfather was 
raised in Berks county, removed to 
Westmoreland county at an early stage 
of his life, and while yet a young man 
took up his residence in Clarion county. 
He settled in a woodland country and 
cleared a farm. Subsequently he built 
a furnace, but the venture proved a 
foilure and involved him in much debt, 
and in 1861 he died a poor man. Mr. 
Cyphert's father was of German and his 
mother of Irish origin. The son was 
born I in Limestone township, Clarion 
county. He was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of that county and at a nor- 
mal school at Callensburg, taught by 
John McGonagle. What success he has had has been due to his industry and energy, 
as he was very poor when a boy. The occupations he has followed are farming, 
raising and dealing in live stock and teaching school. He was township auditor 
and overseer of the poor and has been tax collector for seventeen years. He was 
also postmaster at Kingsville, Clarion county, for six years, and attended the 
Democratic State Convention of 1885 at Harrisburg as a delegate. At the election 
at which he was chosen a member of the House, he led all the other candidates in 
the number of votes received. He is a member of the executive committee of the 
Pennsylvania State Grange, and has taken great interest in the success of the 
Patrons of Husbandry. To him was intrusted the introduction in the House of 
the bill to provide a new method of electing members of the State Boai'd of Agri- 
culture, by having them chosen from the various agricultural societies, granges 
and kindred organizations. During the session of the Legislature of 1893 hun- 
dreds of petitions were received from granges in Pennsylvania, asking for the pro- 
posed change in the interests of a larger representation on the board of the agri- 
cultural interests of the State. Mr. Cyphert also introduced a bill to allow con- 
stables compensation for visiting licensed hotels under the Brooks' law. As a 
member of the lower branch of the assembly he served on these committees : 
Bureau of Statistics, Counties and Townships and Iron and Coal. 




X 



House of JRepresentutives. 



155 



JOHN K. GORMAN, who is serving 
his first term in the Legislature as a 
member from Clearfield county, was 
born in New Washington, in that county, 
July 27, 1862. His parents, who were 
of Scotch-Irish descent (both of whom 
are dead), lived on a farm in Bnrnside 
township, where Mr. Gorman was i-aised 
and in due time was sent to common 
schools. Afterwards he went to the 
Normal school in New Washington and 
prepared himself as a teacher and for 
four years taught in the public schools 
of his native county. He entered the 
State Normal school in Clarion, Clarion 
county, and from that institution grad- 
uated in 1889. When his school days 
were ended he was appointed deputy 
sheriff of Clearfield county, under Sheriff 
E. L. McCloskey, and in that capacity 
served until 1891. In the meantime he 
read law and was admitted to the bar of Clearfield county and is now a practicing 
attorney in the town of Clearfield. Mr. Gorman is very active in the politics of 
his county, and for the years 1890 and 1891 was the secretary to the Democratic 
County Committee. He was also a National Guardsman and for three years was 
member of company D, in the Fifteenth regiment. He was elected to the Legis- 
lature from his county by a handsome majority and in the House is serving on the 
following committees: Judiciary Local, Mines and Mining and Military. The 
new mine ventilation law was introduced by Mr. Gorman and passed both House 
and Senate without a dissenting vote, notwithstanding the foct that this same bill 
failed in the Legislature of 1891. 




156 



House of Repi-esentatives. 



pHARLES SYLVESTER KING, one 
^ of the members from Clearfield 
county, -nas born April 17, 1848, iu the 
town of Petitcodiac, Westmoreland 
county, New Brunswick, Canada. His 
ancestors on his father's side were Irish 
and his mother's parents were Scotch, 
having been reared so near the Ameri- 
can line that it was not difficult for him 
to acquire a considerable knowledge of 
Americans and American institutions ; 
and the more he learned of them the 
more he was led to love and admire the 
United States government. The great 
love of freedom was so strong in him 
that at the age of nineteen years Mr. 
King determined to become a citizen of 
the United States, and in 1878 he en- 
tered the State of Maine in which he 
remained for two years, at the end of 
which time he concluded to visit Penn- 
sylvania, arriving in Philipsburg, Centre county, March 5, 1869, and in a short 
time he secured employment with a lumber company doing business in Clearfield 
county. He at once took advantage of our naturalization laws and became a citi- 
zen of this commonwealth and has remained a resident of that county ever since. 
Connecting himself with the Democratic party, he has always been a strong advocate 
of the principles of that party, believing that the perpetuity of our government de- 
pends on those principles. Mr. King has held several minor oflfices in his county, 
having served as school director for a number of years, and was elected judge of 
elections in the borough of Brisbin, which is largely Republican. He was elected 
to the Legislature by a large majority notwithstanding there was a most deter- 
mined effort made to compass his defeat. On the opening of the session he was ap- 
pointed on the following committees : Constitutional Reform, Federal Relations 
and Centennial Affairs. He has been in faithful attendance at every session of the 
House, and while he has engaged but little in debate he has been studious and 
observing, and by his genial manners has made many friends in both parties. He 
introduced a bill for the improvement of roads and also a bill requiring owners of 
property in Clearfield county to fence the same. He is a man of the people and 
will neglect no opportunity presented to work for their interests. 




1k^ 



House of Representatives. 



157 




J 



"AMES C. QUIGGLE; who was bom 
at Lock Haven, December 29, 1851, 
is the sou of the late Hon. James W. 
Quiggle, and his mother is a sister ot 
Judge C. A. Mayer. In 1856 his par- 
ents removed to Philadelphia from Clin- 
ton county, and three years afterward 
he accompanied them to Antwerp, Bel- 
gium. His father was United States 
consul at that port, and the son made 
his home there for two years and a half 
and attended French and German 
schools. In November, 1861, he re- 
turned to Philadelphia with his parents 
and applied himself to further study in 
the schools of that city and a commer- 
cial college. He had intended connect- 
ing himself with the profession of the 
law and had been regularly entered as a 
student in the common pleas court of 
Philadelphia, but imperfect vision com- 
pelled him to abandon his purpose. In October, 1871, before he had attained the 
age of twenty years, he was tendered and accepted on personal and not political 
grounds, the office of United States consular agent at Cornwall, Canada, which he 
resigned March 10, 1872. From 1873 to 1876 he was engaged in Wayne township, 
Clinton county, in agricultural and lumbering pursuits. In the latter year he 
held an important position in the office of the chief secretary of the United States 
Centennial Commission at Philadelphia. After having filled several offices in his 
township, he, in 1887, accepted the post of United States consul at Port Stanley 
iind St. Thomas, Canada, to which he had been appointed by President Cleveland 
in August 31, 1887, and entered upon his duties October 23, he was superseded for 
political reasons by President Harrison in February, 1890, as Avas .shown by the 
fact that Mr. Quiggle received special commendation from the Department of State 
for the satisfactory and economical admiuistratiou of his office. Before his return 
from Canada he was re-elected justice of the peace for Wayne township for five years, 
but having been elected to the House iu November, 1890. he surrendered the office 
after having attended to its duties tor six months. In the Legislature of 1891 he 
was a member of the Committee on Ways and Means, Federal Relations, Manu- 
factures and Bureau of Statistics. In 1892 he Avas re-elected liy a largely increased 
majority, his vote exceeding that received by his Republican opponent, A. D. 
Meloy, 736. At the present session he is a member of the Committee on Appro- 
priations, Federal Relations, Elections and Printing. Mr. Quiggle has been promi- 
nent in the politics of his county, and in 1883 was chosen a delegate to the Demo- 
cratic State Convention. For five years he was a member of the Clinton County 
Democratic Committee and in 1884 served as its secretar^^ Mr. Quiggle was mar- 
ried at Lock Haven by Rev. Joseph Nesbitt to Miss Ella L. (Quiggle, daughter of 
«x-county commissioner Jacob Quiggle, a di.stant relative, February 23, 1882. 



158 



House of Representatives. 




A NDREW LUCIUS FRITZ, of Bloom- 
-^ burg, was born in Siigarloaf town- 
ship, Columbia county, Pa. His an- 
cestors lived on Chestnut street, Phila- 
delphia, during the revolutionary war. 
They took an active part in the scenes 
incident to that time. His great-grand- 
father, Philip Fritz, moved with his 
grandfather to Columbia county about 
1795, where he purchased a large tract 
of land. Philip Fritz was the first 
school teacher and justice of the peace 
in the northern part of the county, and 
according to history he was "a great 
scholar and local public character of 
more than ordinary influence.'' Rep- 
resentative Fritz's father, Jesse Fritz, 
was a farmer, and purchased and lived 
on the "old homestead," where he 
died two years ago, having filled the 
office of justice of the peace a number 
of years until his death. The subject of this sketch at the age of seven began to 
work on his father's farm. In the summer for a number of years he worked on 
the farm and Aveut to school in winter. He received an academical education at 
the New Columbia and Orangeville Academies and the Bloomsburg State Normal 
School. He has always been a laborious student. He began teaching when about 
sixteen years of age, and followed that profession six years. He studied law 
with ex-United States Senator C. R. Buckalew, and was admitted to the bar in May, 
1878. In November of the same year he located at Scran ton, and was admitted 
to practice as an attorney of the Lackawanna county courts. In a short time he 
removed to Bloomsburg, where he has since lived and practiced law. Mr. Fritz 
has a large practice in Columbia and adjoining counties, and has been admitted 
to practice in the supreme court. He has been receiver of taxes, town auditor, 
solicitor of the Bloomsburg j)oor district, and counsel for a number of munici- 
palities, and he was secretary of town council for a number of years until he re- 
signed. He was appointed by three sheriffs in succession as deputy, and had 
charge of the sheriff's office of Columbia county in the absence of the sheriff until 
his other business compelled him to give up the position. Through these positions 
and by his kind and obliging disposition he made many friends and became well 
acquainted with the people of the county. In 1884 he was elected to the House 
of Representatives, receiving the highest vote on the Democratic ticket. In 1886 he 
was re-nominated without opposition and was elected, running ahead of his ticket 
at the general election. In 1892 he was elected a third time as a member of the 
House, an honor awarded to but few in his county. During his three terms in 
the Legislature he served on the Judiciary General and other important com- 
mittees. In 1891 Mr. Fritz was elected a delegate to the proposed constitutional 
convention from the Senatorial district, composed of the counties of Columbia, 
Montour, Lycoming and Sullivan, by the largest vote in the district. He has 
taken an active part in the business interests of his county and is interested in 
several new enterprises. Mr. Fritz has always been a Democrat, has taken an 
active part in politics and has been a delegate to several county and state conven- 
tions. He is married and has two small children, both boys. 



House of Representatives. 



159 




EDWARD MARVIN TEWKSBURY. 
of Columbia county, Avas born Sep- 
tember 10, 1837, in Brooklyn, Susque- 
hanna county, Pa., on a farm. His 
father, Reuben Tewksbury, was a na- 
tive of Vermont, and his mother, Mar- 
tha Corey, was from Rhode Island. 
The Tewksbury's are of English ances- 
try. D'Aubigne places "John Tewks- 
bury, a leather merchant of London, 
with the martyrs of A. D. 1528, and as 
early as A. D. 1512, being in possession 
of a manuscript copy of the Bible." The 
Tewksbury family early settled in Mas- 
sachusetts, intermarrying with the Sar- 
geants, "Winthrops and Worthings, of 
early collonial and revolutionary times. 
Until the age of fifteen Representative 
Tewksbury attended the public schools 
of the township where he was born. He 
then took a three years' course of in- 
struction at Harford University (old Franklin Academy of Susquehanna county), 
receiving the "certificate of scholarship," then granted by the faculty. He be- 
gan teaching public school near Millersburgin Dauphin county. Pa., when eighteen 
years of age, teaching more or less each year for nearly twenty years, part of the 
time in connection with farming. In 1860 he met with an accident, resulting in 
permanent physical disability, which incapacitated him for the more active duties 
of life. He is emphatically a farmer, li\ingonthe farm, yet intei-ested in other 
pursuits of a mercantile character. He has filled a number of local offices in his 
county and was a delegate to the Democratic convention in Allentown in 1883. 
He was elected to the house in 1890 and 1892, each time by a commanding ma- 
jority. As a candidate the last named year he had no opposition. In the Legis- 
lature he served on several of the most important committees. Among others he 
introduced bills to require seats to be furnished females employed in factories, to 
prohibit the issuing of free passes and discrimination in freights, to fix railroad 
fare at two cents a mile, for the introduction of free text books in the schools, to 
prohibit the employment of children under twelve years of age who have not at- 
tended school twelve weeks in a year, for the distribution of the State appropria- 
tion according to the number of months taught in the several districts, for a gen- 
eral borough law, for a commission to locate the forts of Pennsylvania prior to 
1783 and for the exemption of forest lands connected with farms from taxation. 
Since 1856 Mr. Tewksbury has been actively working for the triumph of his party, 
believing that the best interests of the State and Nation demanded its success. He 
has devoted the best efforts of his life to the common school cause of Pennsylvania, 
as he thinks "Education is the Hand-maid of Religion." His family in their 
church relations are Methodists and he is a communicant in this church. He early 
entered the grange field in the interest of the farmer and home-owner, and has 
always demanded for them equal rights before the law. The young people have 
always found in him a true friend, the unfortunate a man with an open, helping 
hand, his enemies one ready to forgive and his friends one who never forgot or 
forsook them. 



160 



House of Representatives. 



ROBERT C. McMASTERS, of Craw- 
ford, was born near Adamsville, 
Crawford county, Pa., June 13, 1839. 
He is a son of John M. McMasters, one of 
the early settlers of western Crawford, 
who entered the primitive forests in 
his early life and lived to see them 
"blossom as the rose," dying at the 
age of eighty-seven years. Young Mc- 
Masters was educated in the common 
schools, at the Hartshorn Academy and 
Jamestown Seminary. He taught 
school during the winters of 1860 and 
1861. August 16, 1862, Mr. McMasters 
enlisted in company H, One hundred 
and Forty-fifth regiment, Pennsylvania 
volunteers. His regiment was recruited 
by Colonel H. L. Brown, of Erie, and 
began active service at Antietam. Its 
next engagement was at Fredericksburg, 
where it suffered severely. Mr. McMas- 
ters was captured at Chancellorsville by the Confederates and taken to Libby 
prison. He was released on parole and returned to the Union lines, but not in 
time to participate in the battle of Gettysburg. From the time of his release 
until the close of the war Mr. McMasters participated in all the battles in which 
the Army of the Potomac took part until the close of the conflict at Appomattox. 
During the siege at Petersburg Mr. McMasters had command of companies H and 
G. At the close of the war he was mustered out of service and soon after entered 
the mercantile business at Adamsville, Pa, where he has lived ever since. In con- 
nection with his mercantile business he has been engaged in farming the past few 
years. Mr. McMasters is a director in the First National Bank of Greenville, Pa., 
and the secretary of Rocky Glen Cemetery. He was a member of the State Dem- 
ocratic Convention of 1892 and was postmaster at Adamsville from 1868 to 1872. 
He was a candidate for Assemblyman in the tall of 1893 and received the largest 
vote of any candidate on either ticket. He is a member of the House Committees 
on Banks, Military, Public Health and Sanitation and Vice and Immorality. Mr. 
McMasters championed the cause of the advocates of the co-operative bank bill 
and the measure to distribute the State appropriation to the common schools, pro- 
posing a radical change in the manner of the distribution of the appropriations. 





House of Representatives. 



161 




WILLIAM HENRY ANDREWS, of 
Crawford county, ex-chairman of 
the Republican State committee, was 
born in Youngsville, Warren county, 
Pa., January 14, 1842. His paternal 
ancestor fought under the banner of 
William the Conqueror, and was 
knighted for gallantry and meritorious 
services at the battle of Hastings, October 
14, 1066. In after years his descendants 
maintained the reputation of their pro- 
genitor, and the family name will be 
found among England's truest patriots 
and bravest defenders for many cen- 
turies. On his mother's side Mr. An- 
drews is of Puritan descent, the first of 
his maternal ancestors in this country, 
dating his advent to America back to 
the earliest settlement made by the Pil- 
grims in Massachusetts. A great-grand- 
father on his mother's side of the family 
served in the Continental army during the revolution under Montgomery at the 
storming of Quebec; was with General Gates at the surrender of Burgoyne at 
Saratoga, and with Washington at the surrender of CornAvallis atYorktown. An- 
other ancestor served under Washington throughout the entire struggle for inde- 
pendence. In the war of the rebellion also the family name was well represented 
among the defenders of the Union. His father, Dr. Jeremiah Andrews, was born 
in Mitchelltown, Ireland, educated in Dublin and emigrated to this country when 
twenty-five years of age. He was recognized as a skillful practitioner, and pos- 
sessed to a remarkable degree the esteem and confidence of the community in 
which he lived. Dr. Andrews' wife, the mother of W. H. Andrews, was a 
daughter of Dr. Noah Weld, a member of one of the oldest families and one of the 
best known and most respected citizens of Warren county. 

After obtaining such rudimentary education as the public schools of his time 
and section afforded, W. H. Andrews early in life entered upon a mercantile ca- 
reer, and up to the year 1880 was largely engaged in mercantile pursuits, part of 
the time in Cincinnati, O., and subsequently at Meadville and Titusville, Pa. 

During the year 1880 he was elected chairman of the Republican committee of 
Crawford county, a position he held for three successive terms, and in which his 
efficiency and aptitude for politics were demonstrated. He was again unani- 
mously elected in 1886. Early in his political career he develojied those charac- 
teristics which served to elevate him to the chairmanship of his party in Pennsyl- 
vania. He served with credit to himself and advantage to his part3' as first as- 
sistant secretary to the Repul)lican State Committee of Pennsylvania during the 
years 1887-88, and so ably did he discharge the duties to which he was assigned 
that his work obtained such liearty recognition at the hands of the old party 
leaders, who were so favorably impressed by his qualities for work and organiza- 
tion and his practical common sense that he Avas made chairman of the State com- 
mittee in 1888, and was unanimously re-elected in 1889 and again in 1890. 

Always a stalwart Republican and ever loyal to his associates under all condi- 
tions and every circumstance, Mr. Andrews is regarded with admiration by his 
friends and l)y those whom he opposes as an honorable and able antagonist. 
11 



162 



House of Representatives. 




WE. McGILL, oi Crawford county, 
. was born in Woodcock townshi p, 
February 1, 1835. He was educated iu 
the common schools and brought up on 
a farm. He served three years as 
deputy sheriff of Crawford county, and 
for the last fourteen years has been en- 
gaged in the lumber business, stock 
raising and general farming. 




House of Representatives. 



163 




SAMUEL McCUNE WHERRY was 
boru January 5, 1840, near Ship- 
pensburg, Pa. He went through the 
schools of his native county and, in 
1860, at the age of twenty years, grad- 
uated at Princeton College with one of 
the highest honors of his class. He then 
returned to his native county and 
studied law with the Hon. Frederick 
Watts, of Carlisle. He was a member 
of the Constitutional Convention of 
1872 and 1873, and took an active jwrt 
in the formation of the tundamental 
law of our commonwealth. For a num- 
ber of years he owned and edited the 
Carlisle Volunteer. In 1886 he was 
elected a member of the House of Rep- 
resentatives and served during the ses- 
sions of 1887 and 1889. In 1890 he was 
elected for a third term, an honor never 
before conferred upon a Representative 
of his county. He was a member of the State Revenue Commisiou of 1887 by ap- 
pointment of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and a member of the 
same commission during the year 1889 by election of the House. At the session 
of 1889 he was the Democratic nominee for Speaker. In 1892 he was elected to 
the House of Representatives for the fourth time and was made chairman of the 
Democratic caucus of the House. His legislative e.xperience makes him an inval- 
uable member. In the session of 1893 he was placed upon the most important 
committees of the House — Ways and Means, Judiciary General, and also upon the 
Committee on Appropriations and Manufectures. His best work in the House has 
been in advancing and perfecting important bills. He never introduces a bill if 
he can find a suitable man to do it for him. His anti-discrimination bill is con- 
sidered by far the most just one ever ofl'ered in the House, and he is confident 
it will some da}^ become a law, as will also his measure to secure uniformity in 
divorce legislation. He has introduced a civil service measure, which extends the 
civil service rules of the United States to the State and municipal governments of 
Penn.sylvania, which he thinks bound to become a law. His bill regulating the 
.sinking fund, passed at the session of 1891, has worked like a charm. After the 
decision of the House in the contested election case of Higby r*. Andrews, he in- 
troduced and had passed a law retjuiring every elector to cast his ballot within 
the territorial limits of the district in which he is domiciled. The effect of this 
Irill will be to prevent such contests in the future and save to the State thousands 
of dollars. There are few if any men in the House whose influence upon legisla- 
tion is more potent for good than that of Mr. Wherry. He is an indefatigable 
worker. He scans legislation more closely, perhaps, than any other member. A 
defect in a bill, constitutional or otherwise, is quickly detected by him, and the 
suggestion of amendment comes in such friendly spirit that it is always adopted. 
He is a good fighter, too, and if he deems a bill an unjust measure, be its author 
friend or foe, he fearlessly states to the House his objections to it and does all in 
his power to strike it down. He is a forcible speaker and what he says he .says 
well. His occupation, he will tell you, is not that of a lawyer, editor or politi- 
cian, but a farmer for revenue only. 



164: 



House of Representatives. 




GEORGE MORRIS ECKELS, born 
April 29, 1857 in Mechanicsbnrg, 
Cumberland count}', Pa. His father 
was a farmer and cooper. His ancestors 
were of Scotch-Irish descent. His great- 
grandfather when a child was brought 
to the United States by his father who 
settled in Western Pennsylvania, with 
his family, consisting of wife and four- 
teen children. None of his ancestors 
possessed means beyond the earnings of 
their labor. In their religious views 
they held to the Presbyterian faith. lu 
politics they were invariaijly Democrats. 

(JHJI^Hj^^HL ^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 Mr. Eckels received his education in the 
J^^Wpm^E^^^^^^^^^^^^B public schools of his native town from 
W^mmrn^..- j^^^^^^^^^^^H jggg ^^ jg-g jjj ^jjg latter year he en- 
tered a drug store at his home to learn 
the business. In January, 1877, he en- 
tered a drug store in Philadelphia and 
the same year became a student at the 
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, where he graduated in the spring of 1879. He 
then returned to Mechanicsbnrg and formed a partnership with his younger 
brother, they having purchased the drug store in which both had served as clerks. 
They still continue as partners in the same business. In 1883 he was elected tran- 
scribing clerk of the House of Representatives and served during the regular and 
extra sessions of the Legislature ot that year. In the fall of 1883 he became a 
student in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania and gradu- 
ated from that institution in May, 1885. Since that time he has practiced his pro- 
fession in his native town in connection with his drug business. In 1884 Mr. Eckels 
was fleeted a delegate from Cumberland county to the Democratic State Conven- 
tion by a vote of sixty-five out of sixty-six votes. The same year he was elected 
alternate delegate to the National Democratic Convention at Chicago. In 1890 he 
was elected a member of the House by a majority of about 700 and was re-elected 
in 1892 by an increased majority of over 200. Both times he was a candidate he 
carried his own native town, Mechanicsbnrg, which is largely Republican, the first 
time by a majority of 112, and the second time by 123. He served on the following 
committees : Centennial Affairs, Pensions and Gratuities, Insurance and Public 
Health and Sanitation. Mr. Eckels is quiet and unassuming, an active, earnest 
worker in the hall of the House and in committee room. He is always present 
at his post of duty and ever attentive to the interests of his constituents. He does 
not pose as a speaker, l)ut when occasion requires says what he has to say clearly, 
tersely and forcibly. 






House of Representatives. 



165 




GEORGE KUNKEL, the representa- 
tive of the First district of Dauphin 
county, is a native of Harrisburg. He 
was educated in the Gause and Seiler 
Academies of Harrisburg, and graduated 
in 1S76 from Franklin and Marshal Col- 
lege, at Lancaster, the second honor 
man of his class, delivering the Frank- 
lin oration. Judge Simonton became 
his tutor in the law. He was admitted 
to the bar of Dauphin county two years 
after his graduation from college, and 
forthwith entered upon the practice of 
his profession. Success at once demon- 
strated his fitness for his calling. From 
the lower courts he went into the su- 
preme court with a number of remark- 
iible cases and met with exceptional 
success, displaying a comprehensi\e 
knowledge of the law and an extraordi- 
nary faculty for concise and forcible 



reasoning. In 1885, after one of the most exciting contests ever had in the county, 
he was made the candidate for district attorney by the Republican party, and was 
elected by a handsome majority. His administration of the office exceeded the 
expectations of his friends, and avou for him high commendations from his fellow- 
members of the bar. In 1888 he was unanimously re-nominated and re-elected by 
the unprecedented majority of 3,700, receiving 1,600 majority in the city of Har- 
risburg, his home. 

As district attorney Mr. Kunkel proved himself a genius in arranging and dis- 
patching business, thus saving great and unnecessary expense to the county. In 
him the people found a fearless, wise and able champion to prosecute their cases. 
In his conduct of criminal cases his arguments showed him to be a master in mar- 
shaling facts and powerful and convincing in the presentation of the salient points 
of a case to a jury. In the administration of his office he increased the number of 
his friends by his courtesy and impartiality, making no distinction of persons or 
political affiliations. Mr. Kunkel is one of the leaders of the Dauphin county bar. 
He is popular not only with the young element, but commands the profound re- 
spect of all who are his seniors at the bar. He has won the confidence of the 
people generally without regard to party. 

Mr. Kunkel was elected to the Legislature in 1892, defeating his Democratic 
opponent by over 700 votes, although having been nominated but a few days be- 
fore the election. He at once took an active interest in the affairs of the House, 
and is one of the most popular members of that body. His colleagues have even 
not been slow to recognize his ability as a lawyer and legislator, and his advice is 
daily sought by them on matters pertaining to legislation. He is a member of the 
committees on Judiciary General, Legislative Apportionment, City Passenger 
Railways, and Constitutional Reform. He was a member of the sub-committee to 
draft a legislative apportionment bill, and was also .selected by Chairman Walton, 
of the Judiciary General Committee, to formulate an Anti-Pinkerton bill out of 
the five measures of this kind referred to the committee. 



166 



House of Representatives. 




M' 



fARTIN LANDIS HERSHEY is 
one of the genial, good-natured 
members of the House. He represents 
the Second district of Dauphin county, 
and was born April 1, 1857, at Derry, 
Dauphin county, almost within the 
shadow of the famous old Derry Pres- 
bj'terian church, where in ancient times 
the good man who attended services 
took his wife with him and listened to 
the sermon while he kept a lookout for 
Indians, who made repeated attacks on 
the old church. Dr. Hershey's father 
was a farmer, as was his father before 
him, and all were Pennsylvania born, 
living in the same locality for over 
seventy years. The young man was 
educated in the common schools and at 
the Lebanon Vallej- College, Annville, 
Pa., and then taught school in his 
native town for four years, achieving 
much success as an educator. His greatest wish was to study medicine and he 
chose as his preceptor Dr. W. C. Baker, of Hummelstown, Pa., and as his Alma Mater 
the famous old Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, graduating in 1883 with 
honors. He at once began the practice of medicine in Derry, and in a short time 
won fame as a practitioner throughout the lower end of Dauphin county. His many 
friends in 1890 presented his name to the Dauphin county Republican convention 
for member of the House of Representatives from the Second district, and was 
honored by nomination and election. He was an active legislator from the -start, 
and so well did he .serve his people that he was accorded a reelection in 1892 by 
the splendid majority of over 2,700, leading all of the other candidates. 

Dr. Hershey's ability was recognized in the formation of the committees. He 
was made chairman of the Committee on Health and Sanitation, and is a member 
of the committees on Appropriations, Congressional Apportionment and Constitu- 
tional Reform, all of them important and containing the best minds of the House. 
The State Fish Commission this year placed in Dr. Hershey's hands for introduc- 
tion in the Hou.se the bill making an appropriation for the carrying on of the work 
of lish propagation. 




House of Representatives. 



167 



JOHN ADAM LAUDENSLAGER, of 
the Second district, Dauphin 
county, was born in Lykens township, 
Dauphin county, Pa., in 1850. When 
but six years old both parents died, and 
I'rom that time he was nursed and 
cared for by relatives and kind friends. 
He attended the public schools of 
several towns, also the Berrysburg 
Seminary and Freeburg Academy. He 
began teaching in the public schools 
when he was eighteen years of age, but 
soon afterwards entered the mercantile 
business, in which he has since been 
successfully engaged. In 1880 he was 
elected justice of the peace ot Union- 
town borough without opposition, and 
in 1888 was unanimously elected a tax 
collector in that borough. He was 
elected in 1890 as school director, but 
resigned when elected as Representative. 
Since 1882 he has been manager of a large co-operative store under the Pennsyl- 
vania State Grange Patrons of Husbandry. Mr. Laudenslager has for many years 
been one of the Republican leaders in Dauphin county, and in recognition of his 
faithful party service he was nominated in 1890 and elected a member of the House 
of Representatives. In 1892 he was re-nominated, with practically no opposition, 
and was elected by a large majority. He takes an active interest in all legislation, 
especially that pertaining to the farmer, and is a member of the (Committee on 
Accounts, Geological Survey, Public Buildings and Centennial Affairs. Mr. Lau- 
denslager has attended as a delegate every Dauphin county Republican Conven- 
tion held in the past fifteen years. He is a member of the Patrons ot Hu.sbandry, 
Patriotic Order Sons of America, and Free and Accepted Masons. In 1872 he was 
married to Malinda Strohecker, of Lykens Valley. Their union has been blessed 
with two children. 





168 



House of Representatives. 




SAMUEL S. PAGE, sou of Dauiel 
Page and Mary Page, was born July 
24, 1856, in Paxtang township, Dauphin 
county, Pa. He was educated in the 
Paxtang school and was raised a farmer. 
At the age of seventeen years he ap- 
prenticed himself to Peter Dunkel, of 
Oberliu, Pa., to learn the trade ot car- 
penter, at which he worked about seven 
years, three years of which time he 
carried on contracting, building a num- 
ber of houses, including a public school 
house. At the age of twenty-three 
years he was elected a justice of the 
peace of Swatara township, which office 
he held for thirteen years. He has been 
also extensively and successfully en- 
gaged in the real estate business, with 
office in Steelton. In 1893 at the Ke- 
publican County Convention he was 
unanimously chosen as the candidate of 
the Republican party for the office of member of the Second Legislative district of 
Dauphin countj' and was elected by the unusual majority, 2,600. He was ap- 
pointed on the following standing committees by Speaker Thompson : Insurance, 
Compare Bills, Vice and Immorality, Congressional Apportionment, Fish and 
Game of which committee he was chosen secretary. He introduced bills during 
the session of 1893. Bills to prohibit the killing of wild turkey for a period of 
three years, to compensate school directors and to compel them to visit schools, to 
regulate borough council and to make an appropriation for the paying of the ex- 
pense of the electoral of the State of Pennsylvania, in 1888. He enlisted in the 
Governor's Troop of Harrisburg for three years, attended encampment at Mount 
Gretna. When twenty-two years old he Avas married to Elizabeth E. Brehm, of 
Hummelstown, daughter of Dr. Samuel Brehm. Their children are Anna Mary. 
Jennie Pearl, Artie Levau, Lenmau Brehm, Edgar Silvestin and Faith G. His an- 
cestors George Page, came to this country in 1735, obtained a warrant from William 
Penn for 200 acres of land in Paxtang township, near Rutherford station, which 
land remains in po.ssession of the Page family, George Page, great-great grand- 
father and Frederick Page, great-grandfather and Daniel Page grandfather and 
Dauiel Page, father of Samuel S. Page, died on this farm. George Page attended 
church at the Paxtang church, was connected with what was known at that time 
as the " Paxtang boys " commanded by Colonel Elder. Samuel S. Page has always 
been a Republican and never missed an election. He served on the county com- 
mittee for a number of years and was twice elected a delegate to the county con- 
vention. He is a director in the Citizen's Passenger Railway Company, one of the 
Dauphin County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, one of the oldest fire insurance 
companies of the state He has one brother, J. Frank Page, postmaster at Oberliu, 
and one sister, Mrs. J. P. Keim, of Philadelphia. 



House of Representatives. 



169 



WARD R. BLISS was born in Lew- 
isburg, Union county, Pa., on De- 
cember 15, 1855, and is of New England 
descent. In 1874 he graduated from 
the University at Lewisburg (now Buck- 
nell University), in whicli his father 
was professor of Greek and Latin. The 
same year he removed to the city of 
Chester, Delaware county. He taught 
school while reading law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1878. Since 1881 he 
has published a weekly legal journal, of 
which five volumes have been published 
in book form under the title of "The 
Delaware County Reports." He has 
also published a "Digest of the Local 
Laws of Delaware County." Since 1882 
he has edited and published the Dela- 
ware County Bepuhlivan, the oldest news- 
paper in the county. In 1887 he was 
chairman of the Republican County 
Committee and in 1888 was elected the first time to the Legislature. He was re- 
elected in 1890 and 1892. In the present House he is chairman of the Committee 
on Judiciary Local and a member of the Committees on Municipal Corporations, 
Health and Sanitation, Printing and Congressional Apportionment. During t^je 
last two sessions his eflbrts in the Legislature have been devoted chiefly to the 
passage of a new quarantine bill for the port of Philadelphia, to secure better pro- 
tection to the people of the State and to compel the removal of the present Laza- 
retto out of Delaware county, where it has become a serious menace to the health 
of the people. 








170 



House of Representatives. 



THOMAS HENRY GARVIN, one of 
the Delaware county members of 
the House, Avas born in Philadelphia, 
October 23, 1857. While in that city 
he attended the public schools and a 
business college. At the age of sixteen 
his family removed to Sharon Hill, 
Delaware county, where he has resided 
ever since. The elder Garvin and his 
son are partners in the retail coal busi- 
ness in Philadelphia, and the latter is 
also in the real estate business in Dela- 
ware county. He is one of the incorpo- 
rators and general manager of the Sha- 
ron Hill Real Estate Company. He 
has served in the councils of his borough 
and also been' twice elected burgess of 
the place, filling the jwsition in 1891 
and 1892. He was nominated to the 
Legislature after a spirited contest and 
elected by a large majority. Mr. Gar- 
vin comes from the district from which Representative Garrett was elected a mem- 
ber of the House. He was on the committees on Railroads, Legislative Apportion- 
ment, Fish and Game, Pensions and Gratuities and Compare Bills. Mr. Garvin 
has established a reputation for attentive and intelligent work in committee, and 
few members had a tighter hold on the friendship of his fellow Legislators. 





House of Representatives. 



171 



GEORGE E. HEYBURN was boru at 
Chadd's Ford, Birmingham town- 
ship, Delaware county. Pa., February 
21, 1846. His father, who was born in 
1801, on the farm the son now^ owns, 
was married to the daughter of Edward 
Brinton, who took part in the battle of 
lirandywine and whose father was 
among the early settlers who came from 
England and located in Birmingham 
township. Mr. Heybnrn was the 
youngest of twelve children, eight girls 
and four boys. All his brothers are 
dead, one of whom died in the army. 
Mr. Heyburn obtained his education in 
the public schools of his county. He 
was apprenticed to learn the carpenter- 
ing trade at sixteen years of age but 
after serving one year entered Maple- 
wood Institute at Concordville, under 
the instruction of Prof. Shortlidge, and 
after two terms in the institution finished his course of study at Chester Valley 
Academy at Coatesville, under Prof. Jonathan Taylor, graduating fourth in a class 
of twenty-five. He then returned to his home and engaged in farming, which oc- 
cupation he has followed since. In 1869 he married Sarah A., daughter of Robert 
Smith, formerly of Darby. He is a member of the Brandy wiue Baptist Church and 
has served fifteen years as superintendent of the Sunday-school connected with the 
congregation. He has been identified with the schools of his district for twelve 
years and served over eleven years as treasurer. He was elected president of the 
Delaware County Directors Association when organized and still retains the posi- 
tion. In 1890 he was a candidate for the House and received the support of eighty 
delegates in the convention held in that year. In 1892 he received the nomina- 
tion for member of the Legislature and was elected by a large majority. He has 
earned a good reputation as a speaker in Christian bodies and was earnestly urged 
in consequence by a number of clergymen who heard some of his addresses to enter 
the ministry. Mr. Heyljurn served on the Committees on Agriculture, Counties 
and Townships, Labor and Industry and Pensions and Gratuities, and is a mem- 
ber of Winomo Tril)e of Red Men No. 75, Legion of Red Cross and Knights of 
Honor. 




>^ 



172 



House of Representatives. 



CHARLES LUHR was born in the 
town of Forcheim, near the Rhine, 
iu the Grand Duchy of Baden, on Sep- 
tember 25, 1830. His father was born 
in 1800 and his mother in 1809 in the 
same place. The parents came to Amer- 
ica iu 1840 and settled at St. Marys. 
Elk county, Pa., then a vast wilderness. 
At that point they conducted the hotel 
business nearly thirty years. On Mr. 
Luhr's paternal and maternal side, fur- 
ther back even than his great-grand 
parents, this business was followed by 
his ancestors. His father died in 1880, 
but his mother is enjoying good health 
at the ripe age of eighty-four. He re- 
ceived a thorough education in the old 
country, and emigrated to the United 
States one year previous to the de- 
parture of his parents. He was then 
onl}' fifteen years of age. Shortly after 
arriving at New York he left for Baltimore, where he made his home for a year, 
and attended day and night school and attained his first education in the language 
of this country. In 1846 he joined his parents iu the wilds of Elk county, where 
he assisted them in their business and taught school, earning his own livelihood. 
After he reached his majority he took an active part in politics, and was honored 
by being elected to various offices in the gift of the people of Elk county. He 
filled different positions in the borough of St. Marys, covering a period of twenty- 
five years, and also served as associate judge, county treasurer and auditor. In 
1890 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives by 172 majority, 
and in 1892 he was re-elected by a majority of 632. At both sessions of the Legis- 
lature he served on the Ways and Means and other important Committees, and at 
the session of 1893 he was one of the members of the new Committee on Fish and 
Game. Mr. Luhr has been engaged in mercantile pursuits since 1858, and has 
raised a family of six children, four of whom are in business for themselves and 
two are living at home. 





House of Representatives. 



178 




H' 



ENKY BUTTERFIELD, of Erie, 
was born in 1843 in Buffalo town- 
ship. Butler county, Pa. He was edu- 
cated in the public schools at Sharps- 
burg and at the Western Univer,sity at 
Pittsburg. "When a boy he removed to 
the city of Erie where he has since re- 
sided. He was appointed to a clerkship 
in the office of the prothouotary of Erie 
county when in his teens and was sub- 
sequently promoted to de^nity prothouo- 
tary. He was transcribing clerk of the 
House of Representatives in 1864 and 
186.5. The same year Governor Curtin 
appointed him clerk to the courts of 
Erie county to fill an unexpired term, 
and he was subsequently elected for the 
full term. While filling this office he 
read law and was admitted to the bar. 
Soon after he was appointed district at- 
torney' to fill a vacancy. In 1873 he 
was elected a member of the House of Representatives from Eric county and he 
served in the session of 1874, at which session the city of Erie was made a separate 
legislative district. At the expiration of his term he was unanimously renomi- 
nated, but (to use his own language) was almost unanimously defeated by Hon. 
William Henry, a Pemocrat. 

Mr. Butterfield was elected to the Senate in 1875 for the short terra under the 
new constitution and was re-elected for a full term in 1876, serving until 1881. 
He continued in active practice of the law from his admission to the bar until 
1892 when he was again elected to the Hou.se of Representatives, defeating his 
Democratic opponent by nearly 200 votes in a strong Democratic district. Mr. 
Butterfield takes a i^rominent part in the proceedings of the House. He is a 
member of the Committees on Judiciary General, Elections, Federal Relations and 
Manufactures, and chairman of the Committee on Public Grounds and Buildings, 
and reported the bill for im^jroving the capitol and building a fire-proof state 
library and appropriating S;625,000 for the .same. A member of the special com- 
mittee to investigate the charges of corruption made against certain members of 
the House incident to the bill abolishing the public building commi.><sion of Phila- 
delphia. Mr. Butterfield is an earnest and elo(|uent talker, a ready debator and a 
valuable member of the House. What.soever hi.s hand findeth good to do, he does 
with his might and thus generally succeeds. He is widely known and has legions 
of friends Avho predict for him a promising future. He Avas judge advocate with 
rank of major-in-staff of General Henry Huidekoper. Xational Guard of Pennsyl- 
vania from 1880 to 1884. 



174 



House of Bfi'preserdatives. 




pHARLES MUNROE WHEELER 
^ one of the two members of the House, 
representing Erie county outside of Erie 
City, was born January 29, 1826, at 
New Ipswich, Hillsboro' county. New 
Hampshire. His father was a stage line 
proprietor and farmer in that state. His 
ancestors came to this country from 
Scotland. His grandfather served as 
captain of the Continental army, and 
his father was for several years a mem- 
ber of the New Hampshire Legislature, 
and represented his constituents in the 
convention called to revise the constitu- 
tion of that state. Mr. Wheeler, of 
Erie, attended the public schoolsof New 
Hampshire and supplemented his early 
I (lucational training by serving one term 
in a New England Academy. Subse- 
quently he was lieutenant of a rifle 
company in his native state. He has 
followed Airming and lumbering, and has acquired a reputation in business as one 
of the most substantial citizens of his adopted county. He removed to Le Beouflf, 
Erie county, when a young man, in 1852, and has since resided within its bound- 
aries. In 1854 he was married to Sarah J. Clark, of Middlesex county, Massa- 
chusetts. He was a school director in his township for seven years in succession, 
and has been honored with other minor positions of trust by his party, of which 
he has always been an ardent member. In 1890 he was elected to the House by a 
majority of over 1,900, Avhich particularly attested his popularity, as Erie county 
thai year gave a small majority for Pattison for Governor. He led his Republican 
colleague for the same office over five hundred votes. In 1892 he was re-elected 
by a decisive majority. In 1891 he served on the committees of Agriculture, 
Education, Constitutional Reform, Judiciary Local and Vice and Immorality, and 
in 1893 on the Appropriations, Ways and Means, Mines and Mining, Judiciary, 
Ijocal and Retrenchment and Reform Committees. At this session he intioduced 
a general bridge bill and one to repeal a bridge law applj'ing to Erie county. Mr. 
Wheeler's principal occupation is farming, and he owns a large tract of agricultural 
land in the vicinity of his residence, which he devotes largely to dairy purposes, 
and is also the possessor, in conjunction with Congressman Culbertson, of a wheat 
farm in Northern Minnessota. While Mr. Wheeler does not participate much in 
the debates of the House he scans legislation very closely and votes as his conscience 
dictates. 



House of Representatives. 



lib 




J. 



ROSS RAYMOND, one of the three 
• representatives from Erie county, 
was born in Greenfield township, in the 
same county, October 19. 1842. The 
schools in the vicinity in which he lived 
afforded him all the education he re- 
ceived. When nineteen years old his 
patriotic ardor swung him into the 
Union army, in which he did valiant 
service as one of its soldiers. He en- 
listed in the fall of 1861 and served 
three years and five months. He par- 
ticipated in the battles of Charleston 
and Cedar Creek, Va., alter whirh he 
was taken a prisoner and kept in con- 
finement until after the battle of An- 
tietam in Libby and Belle Isle prisons, 
when he was paroled with the last squad 
that left Richmond in the fall of 18G2. 
He was captured on the Rappahannock 
river while attached to the provost guard 
under General Pope, who was then retreating from the enemy with his army. Mr. 
Raymond also took part in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Sub- 
sequently his command was transferred to the west, and he participated in the 
battles of Wahatchie, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge and Ringgold Gap. He 
also had the distinction of taking part in Sherman's march to the sea, during 
which he fought at Resaca, Dallas and Peach Tree Creek, and was in all the en- 
gagements of the campaign to July 20. At the last named place he lost a leg on 
July 20, 1864, and in its place he now carries a wooden one. Since his return 
from the war he has been engaged in the mercantile and hotel business in addition 
to auctioneering for the past twenty years. He resides at North East, Erie county, 
where he has filled a number of offices. He has represented the Republican 
party, of which he is a consistent and active member, at Congressional and other 
conventions. His father, who was born in Boston, was of French descent, and his 
mother was born in New York state. Mr. Raymond served on the committees on 
Congressional Apportionment, Retrenchment and Reform, Vice and Immorality 
and Counties and Townships, and gave close attention to important bills considered, 
and was not slow to point out defects and suggest either necessary modifications or 
negative action when to him it seemed that such a course was justified. 



176 



House of Representatives. 




IT I ^v; 



ICHAEL P. KANE, of Fayette, 
Fas boru near Cadis, Harrison 
county, O., on tlie 27th day of October, 
1854. At an early age he, with his parents, 
came to Pennsylvania, locating in Fay- 
ette county, where he has since resided, 
with the exception of three years, from 
1876 to '79, which were spent in Clarion 
and McKeau counties. Mr. Kane at- 
tended the public schools until fourteen 
years of age, after Avhich he went to 
work in the bituminous coal fields, now 
popularly known as the Counellsville 
coke region. He has witnessed the 
growth of coke manufacturing from 
what may be truly termed an experi- 
ment until it has developed into one of 
the greatest of the manj' mighty indus- 
tries for which Pennsylvania is famous, 
providing employment for many thou- 
sand workmen. 
In 1886 Mr. Kane aided in organizing the miners and coke workers of the Cou- 
nellsville district, since which time he has been an earnest and energetic advocate 
of the rights of the working classes to organize for mutual benefit and protection. 
In the early part of 1887 he attended, as delegate, the first labor legislative conven- 
tion ever held in Pennsylvania. In the same j^ear he was a delegate to the gen- 
eral assembly of the Knights of Labor, which met in Minneapolis. Minn. He 
was chairman of the Connellsville Miners' Wage Scale committee for a number of 
years. 

Mr. Kane was elected a member of the Legislature of '91 and re-elected to the 
session of '92 by the largest vote ever given a Faj'ette county representative. Re- 
alizing the grave injustice done Pennsylvanians and taxpayers in permitting sub- 
jects of foreign governments to enjoy the privileges of state institutions and the 
protection of its laws without exacting a cent in return for these blessings and 
knowing that thousands of these immigrants take advantage of this defect in the 
revenue system by remaining non-citizens, therebj^ enjoying immunity from tax- 
ation, he introduced a bill providing that all unnaturalized male persons twenty- 
one years of age or over, who reside or are employed within this commonwealth, 
shall be required to obtain a license annually for which such non-citizen shall pay 
three dollars, the underlying principle being that all who share our blessings 
should, in justice, bear a portion of our burdens. Mr. Kane made a gallant fight 
for the passage of this bill, encountering bitter opposition, but secured its pas- 
sage in the House. 



House Of Representatives. 



ni 



CHARLES H. BROOKS, who, iu part, 
represents Fayette county in the 
House, was born at Springfield, Fayette 
county, October 19, 1859. He attended 
the common schools of his county and 
several Normal schools in Westmore- 
land until he was sixteen years old. 
At that age he began teaching and fol- 
lowed the occupation, in addition to 
dealing in live stock, until he was sent 
to the Legislature. He was appointed 
United States storekeeper and ganger 
under President Cleveland's previous 
administration in the Twenty-first dis- 
trict, which was afterwards consolidated 
with the Twenty-third. This position 
he tilled most accei^tably. He also 
served one term as school director in 
Springfield. In 1892 he was honored 
with an election to the Pennsylvania 
House of Representatives, on which 
place he has reflected much credit. He has performed his duties as a legislator 
with fidelity and ability, attending the committees on which he served regularly 
and giving legislation submitted to them careful consideration. He was on the 
Legislative Apportionment. Reti-enchment and Reform and Labor and Industry 
committees. He introduced a bill to secure uniformity of text books and to re- 
quire the State to furnish them to pupils free of cost; one of the bills from which 
the anti-Pinkerton act was constructed by the Judiciary General Committee, and 
the bill to appropriate $50,000 to build a monument to the memory of Washington 
at Fort Necessity, where the Father of his Country encamped during the revolu- 
tionary war. Mr. Brooks' text book bill was negatived, after which he contrib- 
uted his influence to the passage of Mr. Farr's bills relative to uniformity of text 
books and to require children between eight and twelve years old to be sent to 
school at least sixteen consecutive weeks in each vear. 





12 



178 



House of Representatives. 




]. 



RUSSELL THORNTON, of Fay- 
ette county, was born near Browns- 
ville, of the same county, June 6, 1843. 
His father followed the occupation of 
farmer, and his ancestors on the pater- 
nal side were from England, and those 
on the maternal side from Ireland. His 
great-grandfather, Thornton, had a re- 
markable history, having lived in three 
centuries. He was born in 1698 and 
died in 1801, making his age one hun- 
dred and three years. Representative 
Thornton received his education in the 
common schools of Fayette county and 
in Dunlap's Creek Academy, and West 
Liberty Academy and Morgantown 
Academy, West Virginia. He was 
going to the latter institution when 
the war broke out, which put an end 
to the academy because of the fact that 
a large majority of the students were 
of Southern birth and entered the Confederate army. When Mr. Thornton had 
completed his education he prosecuted farming and stock raising in his native 
county. Subsequently he was married to Miss Julia Barnett, of Pittsburg, in 
1867, and settled in that city where he engaged in the Hour, feed and commission 
business. His family consisted of himself, wife and two children. In 1874 he 
was elected to represent one of the strongest Republican districts in Pittsburg in 
the House as a Democrat, and he served in the sessions of 1875 and 1876, the 
Legislature then meeting every year. In 1880 he returned to Fayette county and 
re-occupied the Thornton farm, which has been in possession of the Thornton 
family for over a hundred years. From 1883 to 1888 he was proprietor of a hotel 
at Uniontown. Since that time he has lived privately. In 1892 the Democrats 
of Fayette county elected him to the House, in which he served on the Commit- 
tees on Corporations, Military, Judiciary Local and Public Buildings. Among 
other bills he introduced was one to give rapid transit companies, other than steam 
railroad companies the right of eminent domain. He was a member of the special 
committee which investigated the charges that the state printing was not being 
conducted according to the requirements of the law. Mr. Thornton has been a 
devoted follower of the Democratic party since he polled his first vote, and shows 
no sign of deviating from the political path in which he has so long been walking. 
As a member of the House he was not only industrious and watchful of legisla- 
tion, but won the esteem of all with whom he came in contact. 



House of Representatives. 



179 



lOHN J. HAIGHT, of Forest, was 
J born in Richmond township. Craw- 
ford county, Pa., June 8, 1838, and was 
educated in the public schools. When 
a boy he worked on his father's farm 
and sub-sequently taught school. He 
was afterward em])loyed as a clerk in a 
store until 186U, wlien he began drilling 
oil wells by contract. He continued to 
operate for oil for himself and others 
until the fall of 1861 at which time he 
was drilling three wells at East Hick- 
ory, Forest county. He enlisted No- 
vember 9, 1861, as a private in company 
B, One hundred and Eleventh Pennsyl- 
vania volunteer infantry. He soon 
after joined his company at Erie and 
was promoted to first sergeant. Janu- 
ary 15, 1863, he was advanced to second 
lieutenant, February 10, 1863, to first 
lieutenant and June 24, 1865, to cap- 
tain. While first lieutenant Mr. Haight served as assistant inspector general of 
General Kane's brigade, Brigadier General Geary's division. Twelfth army corps. 
He also served a short time as commissary and at different times as adjutant of his 
regiment. He assisted Colonel Cobham, who commanded General Kane's brigade 
during the battle of Gettysburg, in establishing the line occupied by it and by his 
order took charge of the construction of that part of the works. He commamied 
company D during the Gettysburg campaign and company G during the greater 
parts of the campaign through Georgia. He was wounded at the battle of Wan- 
hatchie, Tennessee, October 29, 1863, and again at Grear's farm, near Kenesaw 
Mountain, Georgia, June 21, 1864. Mr. Haight was mustered out, with his com- 
pany, June 19, 1865. Soon after he resumed operating for oil and has been in the 
business most of the time since. He drilled the well that opened up the Cooper 
oil field, July, 1883, and has since been actively engaged in operating for oil in 
Forest county, Mr. Haight served lour years as justice of the peace at Pleasant- 
ville, Venango county, Pa.; also, as school director and road commissioner in 
Howe township, Forest county. He was elected to the Legislature in 1892. Mr. 
Haight is a member of the Committees on IMilitary, Counties and Townships, 
Labor and Industry, Pensions and Gratuities and Accounts. He also served on 
the committee to consider the bill to establish a soldiers orphans' industrial school. 




180 



House of Represer datives. 




A' 



BRAHAM H. STKICKLER was 
born iu Antrim township, Franklin 
county, Pa., Jannarj' 23, 1840, and his 
early boyhood was sjjent on the farm. 
He was the youngest of four sons of 
Joseph Strickler, who was intermarried 
Avith Mary Snively. His grandfather, 
Henry Strickler, moved from York 
county, Pa., near the Lancaster county 
line, at Columbia, in 1807, and settled 
near Greencastle, Franklin county, Pa. 
He was of German-Swiss descent. Mary 
Suivelj% the mother of the subject of this 
sketch, was an only daughter of Peter 
Snively, a descendant of John Jacob 
Schnebele (now Snively), Avho emigrated 
to this country from Switzerland in 
1714 and settled also near Greencastle, 
Franklin county, Pa. Abraham H. 
Strickler was educated at the College of 
New Jersey, Princeton, where he was 
graduated in the class of 1863. He then studied medicine and attended medical 
lectures at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York city, where he was 
graduated in medicine and surgery in l866. H« commenced the practice of his 
profession at Mercersburg. Pa., Avhere he remained five years. In 1871 he located 
iu Waynesboro, in the same county, where he has lived ever since, actively and 
prominently engaged in the practice of medicine. During the war of the rebel- 
lion he served as cadet in the medical department of the Union army, and while 
yet an under-graduate in medicine he performed the duties of assistant surgeon at 
Lincoln hospital, Washington, D. C. He was married in 1870 to Miss Clara Anna 
Besore, of Waynesboro, Franklin county, Pa. He is a member of the Medical So- 
ciety of Franklin county, and has served as its president. He is also a member of 
the Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania, and of the American Medical As- 
sociation. He has served as president and as treasurer of the public school board 
of his district, and is a member of the boards of directors of the manufacturing 
companies of Frick Company and the American Manufacturing Company of 
Waynesboro, Pa. He is a member and treasurer of the trustees of the Enoch 
Brown Memorial Association of Franklin county; is engaged in agriculture and 
horticulture; is active in public aft'airs in his county, and has had in the past fre- 
quent overtures to accept political honors, to which he never consented until the 
fall of 189'2, when he accepted the nomination given him by the Republican 
county convention as candidate for the House, and was elected a member of that 
body. As a legislator he has been active and vigilant, and has given imi)ortant 
legislation the most careful attention. He took an active part in the passage of 
the act establishing a medical council and state boards of medical examiners and 
licensers, and is a member of the Committees on Public Health and Sanitation, of 
Pensions and Gratnities. of Manufactures and of Congressional Aijportionment. 
He is a member of the Reformed church. In politics he has always been an ar- 
dent Republican. 



House of Representatives. 



181 




M. 



A. FOLTZ is of German ancesdy 
and is a native of Franklin county, 
where he was born July 2, 1837. His 
education was obtained in the common 
schools of the county, and select and 
academic schools of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 
where he spent three years. Upon his 
return home and another year spent on 
the farm, he learned the printing trade 
in the Chambersburg Transcript and Bc- 
posifori/ offices, becoming the foreman of 
the latter. In 1859 he purchased a halt 
interest in The Times with P. Dock 
Frey. In 1860 he accepted the superin- 
tendency of the Reformed Church Pub- 
lication House, a position he held until 
1864, when on the burning of Cham- 
bersburg the establishment was trans- 
ferred to Philadelphia. While em- 
ployed as such he Avas pressed into the 
service of the Confederacy for the print- 
ing at Lee's headquarters just before the battle of Gettysburg. A year later he 
was one of the citizens arrested as hostages for the money demand made upon 
Chambersburg prior to its burning. In May, 1866, he started a job printing office 
in connection therewith publishing a business sheet called The Country 3ferchant 
which prepared the way for Public Opinion, the first number of which appeared in 
July. 1869. 

In his long journalistic career and as editor of Public Opinion for the last twenty- 
five years, Mr. Foltz has done much for the advancement of the business and ma- 
terial interests of Franklin county, taking the initiative in the local railroad en- 
terprises, the erection of the water works in Chambersburg, the reorganization of 
the Agricultural Society, the transfer to Chambersburg ot the Taylor & Wolf Co., 
manufacturing establishments, etc. His counsel was frequently sought by the 
founders of the manufacturing establishments which are to-day the pride of 
Waynesboro' and the largest in Southern Pennsylvania. He has through his 
paper always been in close touch with the farmer and working man, and won 
many political battles for his party. Eepublican in politics, he has never hesitated 
to assert his independence Avhen the public welfare demanded. The memorable 
campaign of 1882 made him the target of violent attack, but those who were 
fiercest in denunciation of his course are to-day his most devoted friends and 
political adherents. Mr. Foltz was before the people for the first time for political 
preferment in the campaign of 1892 when the Republicans nominated him for the 
Legislature and he was elected by a large majority. He has frequently repre- 
sented his party in county, district and state conventions, and once as a member 
of the State Committee. In all these years the paper he owns and edits has held 
its own with the representative weeklies of Pennsylvania, and it has a constitu- 
ency and circulation second to none in the Cumberland Valley. 



182 



House of Ilej)resentaiives. 




pEORGE W. SKINNER, of Fulton, 
^J is the son of a farmer and was born 
January 13. 1846, at Dry Run, Frank- 
lin county, Pa. He ^vas educated in 
the public schools, at Dr. Shumaker's 
Academy and at Washington and Jeffer- 
son College. He has at various times 
been engaged as a lawyer, farmer, editor 
and tanner. In 1862 Mr. Skinuer ran 
away from college to enter the army as 
a private. He was promoted to a first 
lieutenant iti 1864 and captain the fol- 
lowing j'ear. In January, 1866, he was 
mustered out of service at Victoria, 
Texas. Mr. Skinner's military record 
is thus spoken of by his regimental 
commander in the following letter, 
which speaks for itself : 

Camp Grant, Richmond, Va.. 

A.UQXUI 31, 1867. 
General U. S. Grant. Secretary of ll'ar : 

General :— I have the honor to recommend Mr. G. Washington Skinner, of Pennsylvania, 
formerly captain in the Seventy-seventb regiment, Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, for 
a position as commissioned officer in the regular United States Army. Mr. Skmner enlisted 
in the Seventy-seventh when a student in AVashington College. Pa., and was promoted to 
captain for his gallantry arid good conduct in the field on the Atlanta Campaign, as well 
as for his intelligence and previous faithful service. When his resriment was mustered out 
of service he returned to college and completed his studies. I regard him as a young man 
of great promise and one that will be valuable to the service. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant. 

THOM.4.S E. Rose. 
Captain Eleventh U. S. Inf , Br. Lt. Col. U. S.A., formerlu Colonel Seventy-seventh reoiment. 
Pennsylvania Infantry. 

It was Colonel Rose, the writer of the above, who planned and carried into suc- 
cessful operation the famous Libby Prison tunnel, being the first officer to pass 
through it and being re-captured within sight of the Union lines. Having been 
elected treasurer of Franklin county in October, 1867, Avhen less than twenty- 
two years old, the effort to have Mr. Skinner commissioned anofiicer in the regular 
army was abandoned. He was elected to the Legislature from Franklin county 
in 1869 and 1870. He served as Journal Clerk of the House of Representatives 
in 1875 and 1876. In 1872 he was a candidate for election-at-large on the Greely 
electorial ticket. Mr. Skinner moved to Fulton county in 1872. He was the 
editor of the Fulton Democrat from 1876 to 1880, and from 1891 to the present 
time. He was elected to the Legislature from that county in 1888, 1889 and 1892. 
In 1890, while a candidate for the Legislature, Mr. Skinner was nominated for 
Congress in the Eighteenth district against his wishes, but made the fight and 
was defeated by 609 majority in a district that gave 5,000 Republican majority 
the previous year. He has been a member of the Soldiers' Orphans School Com- 
mission since its creation by the Legislature. He has been a delegate to a 
number of State Democratic Conventions, and in 1891 he was permanent chair- 
man of the State Convention held by his party at Harrisburg. Mr. Skinner was 
the nominee of the Democratic Legislative Caucus for Speaker of the House at 
the session of 1891. Mr. Skinner is one of the most forcible and eloquent 
speakers on the floor of the House. He is scarcely out of his seat and is always 
on the alert to further such legislation as will benefit his constituents and the 
community at large. He is a member of the Committee on Rules, Elections, 
Ways and Means, Corporations, Railroads and Judiciary General. 



House of Representatives. 



183 




N' 



[OAH M. HARTLEY, the Repre- 
sentative from Greene county, was 
born October 23, 1844, in Cumberland 
township, Greene county, Pa. He was 
educated in the common schools and at 
the California Normal School, and de- 
voted his time when not acquiring edu- 
cational information, in working on his 
father's farm. When between eighteen 
and nineteen years old he began teach- 
ing school, which avocation he pursued 
until two years since. During most of 
this period he taught in his native 
county, one year in West Virginia and 
two years in Illinois. In addition to 
instructing the youth for thirty years, 
he exhibited much interest in all mat- 
ters calculated to advance the cause of 
education. Through him a model 
school system has been established in 
Greene county which has wrought much 
good. He also started a movement in Monongahela township, in which he now 
resides, appropriating an acre of ground to each school house, thus affording the 
pupils ample means for sport and exercise. He has been school director in bis 
township for eighteen years and was appointed postmaster at Ceylon. Greene 
county, by President Garfield and filled the position for ten years. He was a 
memlier of the House in 1891, and in 1892 was re-elected and received over three 
hundred more majority than at the previous election. He has always displayed a 
keen interest in legislation intended to benefit the farming population of the State 
and especially took an active part in the framing of a bill for the improvement of 
country roads. He was a member of the sub-committee of the agricultural delga- 
tion at the session of 1893 which evolved from the various road bills the one which 
bears the name of Mr. Nesbit, of Allegheny, and was also a member of the com- 
mittee charged Avith the advancement of the Niles equalization tax bill on the 
floor of the House. He is a member of the following committees : Agriculture, 
Pensions and Gratuities, Labor and Industry and Counties and Townships. He 
introduced a bill to provide for county uniformity in text books and another to 
require the State to furnish school books free to the pupils in the various districts. 
All legislation to promote temperance principles found in Mr. Hartley an earnest 
advocate. 




184 



House of Representatives. 



PM. LYTLE was first elected to 
• represent Huntingdon county in 
the Legislature in 1888, and has been 
twice re-elected. He had not been a 
politician and had never been a candi- 
date for oflSce prior to his election as a 
Representative. He was given, how- 
ever, a larger vote by the people of his 
county at his three successive elections 
than was received by the Republican 
State or National ticket in the same 
year. Mr. Lytle was born Februarj' 6, 
1840, in Franklin township, Hunting- 
don county. His father, Nathaniel 
Lytle, was the son of William Lytle, a 
soldier of the revolutionary Avar, and 
was for many years a prominent and 
influential citizen of the county. P. 
M. Lytle spent his early years in the 
public school and at the academy at 
Juniata county, then under the manage- 
ment of that well-known and excellent instructor. Professor I. H. Shumaker. 
At about the age of seventeen years he began school teaching, and soon afterward 
took up the study of the law, pursuing that study and teaching at the same time. 
He was admitted to the bar at Huntingdon August 11, 1862, and has since with 
but short intervals devoted himself to the practice. During the latter part of the 
war he filled an important position in the department of Uiaited States military 
railroads at Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has taken an active part in the pro- 
ceedings of the House, and his worth has been recognized by his appointment as 
a member of several of the most important committees. Legislation has received 
the attention and consideration from Mr. Lytle which its importance has de- 
manded. As a debater, he has well earned the distinction he enjoys among his 
tellow members of the House. 





House of Representatives. 



185 




JOHN S. BARE,of Huntingdon county, 
was born in Shirlej' township, of 
that county. April 3, 1847, being the 
oldest son of Peter M. Bare, who was 
JK^ \ for many years a manufacturer of woolens 

^H — ^HfcJ and a country merchant in Huntingdon 

^K jSm 1^1 county. Pa. His paternal ancestors 

^i*^ came to America from Switzerland about 

the middle of the eighteenth cen tury, set- 
tling originally in York county, Pa., Mr. 
Bare's fatlier removing to Huntingdon 
county in 1832. His maternal ancestors 
came from Germany and settled atWar- 
rior'smark, in what is now the noith- 
westernpartofHuntingdoncounty,before 
the revolutionary war— Mr. Bare's great- 
great-grandiather being a soldier in the 
wars with the Indians and French of 
that period. Mr. Bare attended the 
township schools until twelve years of 
age, when he entered his father's store 
in Mount Union. The life in a store-room being much more congenial to the lad 
than that of the school-room, he was permitted to spend most of his youth as a 
clerk. At the age of eighteen his father sent him to the Quaker City Business 
College at Philadelphia, where he graduated from the commercial and lianking 
department. After that he again engaged in the general merchandise and grain 
business. In 1874 he married Miss Elsie J. Shaver, a descendant of one of the 
early settlers of the Juniata Valley. During the years of the civil war he was an 
ardent young supporter of the Union, and at the age of fifteen tried to enter the 
service in a company of volunteers of which his uncle, Frank Bare, was a lieuten- 
ant. His father interposed on account of his youthfulness and prevented his en- 
listment. He is now captain of company A, Fifth regiment, N. G. P. Mr. Bare 
took an active interest in politics several years before he became of age and was 
elected a deleg ite to the Republican County convention the year he became a 
voter. He was elected register and recorder of Huntingdon county in 1884 and 
re-elected in 1887, having no opposition either for nomination or election, the 
Democrats making no nomination. He was elected to the Legislature in 1892. 

He is a member of the Committees on Education, Military, Legislative Appor- 
tionment, Pensions and Gratuities and Compare Bills. Among the more important 
bills introduced by him was one for a more equitable distribution of the State ap- 
propriation to the public schools. He has strongly advocated better common 
school facilities, better public roads, re-adjustment of taxation, protection of game 
and a bill for the partial re-imbursement to counties of the cost of replacing bridges 
swept away by the great floods of 1889. 



186 



House of Mepreseniatives. 




VT SEANOR, of Indiana, was born 
■•■^ • in 1844, in Westmoreland county, 
where his parents then resided on a 
larm. His father died leaving him. at 
the age of seven j'ears, to fight the bat- 
tle of life alone. With only the assist- 
ance of a widowed mother, Mr. Seanor 
Avorked principally on the farm and 
attended the public schools of his town- 
ship and county until the war broke 
out. He then enlisted in' the Four- 
teenth Pennsylvania cavalry. His com- 
pany withdrew shortly after his enlist- 
ment and was organized with the 
Eighteenth Pennsylvania cavalry. He 
was taken prisoner near the Chantilla 
battlefield by the First Virginia cavalry, 
commanded liy Captain Mosby. The 
opportunity was given him to take his 
parole or go to Libby prison. He ac- 
cepted the former, and, in the summer 
of 1863, was discharged and moved to Indiana county in 1864, and the following 
winter he re-enlisted and joined the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania volunteers and 
served with his regiment to the close of the war. Mr. Seanor then resumed farm- 
ing and stock raisingaud also shipping all kinds of live stock, in which he is still 
engaged. He has always taken an active interest in all matters pertaining to 
farming and is one of the best informed men in the State on agricultural subjects. 
He has served a term as one of the managers of the Indiana and Dayton Agricultural 
Societies and has also been president of the latter organization. He was unani- 
mously chosen by the Dayton Agricultural Society to represent Armstrong county 
on the State Board in the year 1890, In 1892 he was elected as a member of the 
State Board of Agriculture from Indiana county. In the same year he was chosen 
as one of the vice-presidents and also re-elected again in 1893. Mr. Seanor was 
elected a member of the House of Eepresentatives in 1890 and re-elected in 1892. 
During his first term he served on the Committees on Agriculture, Railroads, Cor- 
porations, Bureau of Statistics and Constitutional Reform. At the organization of 
the session of 1893 Mr. Seanor was appointed chairman of the Committee on Geo- 
ological Survey and selected to serve on the Committees on Agriculture, Health 
and Sanitation, Vice and Immorality, Military, Game and Fish. Mr. Seanor is 
an earnest champion of the cause of the farmer whose wants he thoroughly under- 
stands. He is an active and energetic member of the Legislature, always in his 
seat and ever ready to serve and advocate such bills as are for the public good. In 
the session of 1891 he made a hard, but ineffective tight for the passage of an anti- 
discrimination bill. He was one of the most fearless exponents of the bill to abol- 
ish the sale and gift of liquor on Decoration Day, which was defeated on second 
reading. Mr. Seanor is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. 



House of Representatives. 



187 




W 



'ILLIAM HOSACK, one of the rep- 
resentatives from Indiana county, 
was born at Black Lick, in the same 
county, February 10, 1843. He received 
a common school education, after which, 
when only eighteen years old, he en- 
tered the Union army and fought in the 
hardest battles of the war. His regi- 
ment was attached to the Army of the 
Potomac and served over three years 
with it, when on May 30, 1864, he was 
taken prisoner. Nine months afterward 
he returned to his home. In order to 
pick up what he lost in education by 
becoming a soldier, he attended Glenade 
Run Academy in Armstrong county for 
three years. During the war he was a 
member of Eleventh regiment, Penn- 
sylvania reserves, company I. This or- 
ganization was first commanded by 
Colonel Gallagher, of Alexander, West- 
moreland county, but he having been wounded in battle, resigned his position 
and was succeeded by S. M. Jackson. Mr. Hosack participated in the seven days' 
fight before Richmond, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, 
The Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Ann and Bethesda Church, near Richmond, 
where he was captured by the Rebels on the evening of the regiment's last day's 
service. He was taken to Libby prison, but soon afterward was transferred to 
Andersonville, where he endured the horrors incident to incarceration in that den 
for nine months. Under a general exchange of prisoners he was liberated and 
was permitted to make his home again among his friends in Indiana county. He 
subsequently taught school, read medicine and graduated at Jefferson Medical 
College, Philadelphia, in March, 1874. Since that time he has been practicing 
medicine in West Lebanon and Indiana. He served nine years as a member of 
the United States Pension Examining Board, resigning January 1, 1893, because 
of his election as a member of the House. He never filled any otfice outside of 
his present position, except minor ones at his home. He was a useful and influen- 
tial member of the Committees on Corporations, Public Health and Sanitation, 
Insurance, Education and Iron and Coal, and also in the House. 






188 



House of Representatives. 




W 



'■ILLIAM ORLANDO SMITH, of 
Jefl'erson county, was born at 
Reyuoldsville, Jefferson county, Pa., 
June 13, 1859. His fother was a civil 
engineer. The public schools of Jeffer- 
son county gave young Smith his edu- 
cation and after graduating he learned 
the art of printing and has pursued his 
trade continuously ever since. For a 
short time he published the Reynolds 
Herald, a Republican paper in Jefferson 
county. He then accepted a position in 
the Government printing office at Wash- 
ington and remained there six years. 
While in Washington he was one of a 
company of ten printers, connected with 
the office of public printing, to estab- 
lish a paper called the Washington 
Crnftsman which was published in the 
interests of and as the official organ of 
the International Typographical Union 
and devoted to the interests of the prin- 
ters connected with the Typographical Union. Mr. Smith was the first assistant 
editor of this paper. After the election of President Cleveland in 1884 he re- 
turned to his native county and connected himself with the Punxsutawney Tribune 
and the Punxsutawney Spirit, which papers he successfully edited. He was elected 
to the House in 1889 to fill the unexpired term of Hon. Francis Weaver, who re- 
signed his seat as the Representative from Jefferson county. In 1890 he was re- 
elected. After the close of the session of 1891, and during the summer immed- 
iately following, he was connected with and edited the Bradford Era, McKean 
county. In January of the following year, 1892, Mr. Smith purchased a one-half in- 
terest in the Punxsutawney Spirit, an independent newspaper, and he is at the 
present time connected with and editor of that paper. In 1892 Mr. Smith was re- 
elected to the House of Representatives. He has always taken a prominent part 
in the political affairs of his own party and in the Legislature is exceedingly 
popular. Mr. Smith is not a debator but carefully guards the interests of his own 
constituents. He is a member of the following House committees : Printing 
(chairman). Appropriations, Judicial Apportionment, Mines and Mining and Pen- 
sions and Gratuities. 




House of Representatives. 



189 



w^^ 



^"f 







H. 



LATIMER WILSON was boru in 
McAllisterville, Juniata county, 
Pa., October 20, 183L His parents were 
of Scotch-Irish extraction and resided in 
this country for manj' years. Mr. Wil- 
son received his education in the pub- 
lic schools of his native county and after 
graduating he engaged in the merchan- 
dizing business and has followed it for 
the greater portion of his life. For the 
past lew j'ears he has been living on a 
farm and followed the life of a farmer. 
He resides on and owns a beautiful farm 
containing about two hundred and fifty 
acres of well-tilled and productive land, 
adjoining a small town called Van "Wert, 
in Juniata county', and Avithin six mileg 
of Mifflintown. Daring the war of the 
rebellion he furnished horses for the 
United States Army. Mr. Wilson is an 
active Eepublican. He served on the 
following committees at the session of 1893 : Compare Bills, Congressional Appor- 
tionment, Constitutional Reform, Iron and Coal and Bureau of Statistics. 




190 



House of Representatives. 




JOHN R. FARR, of the First district, 
Lackawanna, was born in Hyde 
Park, Scranton, July 18. 1857. After 
receiving an ordinary public school 
education he learned type-setting. On 
the completion of his apprenticeship he 
prepared himself in classical course for 
college and entered Lafayette, but did 
not complete the course. He was after- 
ward citj' editor of the Scranton Re- 
[luhlmui and is now editor and proprietor 
of the Courier-Progress, Scranton. He 
served four years as a member of the. 
board of control of that city, of which 
he was assistant secretary part of two 
years and secretary one year. 

Mr. Farr has given particular at- 
tention to educational matters, and in 
the session of 1891 he introduced and 
championed a bill providing for the at- 
tendance of children between the ages 
of eight and twelve years at some school for at least sixteen weeks a year. The 
bill passed both branches of the Legislature, and was the first to pass in the State, 
but to the great disappointment of the friends of education it was vetoed by Gov- 
ernor Pattison. In the session of 1893 Mr. Farr introduced a free text book bill 
providing for furnishing, free of cost, to pupils of public schools books and other 
necessary school supplies, which is the first bill of the kind to pass the Pennsylva- 
nia Legislature, though various efforts in the past have been made to accomplish 
the purpose, also a bill appropriating a large sum to aid the school districts in the 
purchase of books. He also re-introduced a compulsory education measure, which 
is practically the same as that vetoed by the Governor ; this passed the House and 
Senate. Mr. Farr is chairman of the Committee on Education, a position he has 
filled with much credit and marked ability. 

Mr. Farr was a member of the session of 1891 and was re-elected in 1892 under 
peculiar and most disadvantageous circumstances. Sectional troubles resulted in 
the Republicans of his district having two nominees, though it was generally con- 
ceded that Mr. Fan's claim to nomination were indisputable. Secretary of the 
Commonwealth Harrity, who had final disposition of the matter, within ten daj's 
of election, refused to certify either Mr. Farr's nomination or that of his rival ou 
the official ballot. The only candidate for representative on the ballot was the 
Democratic nominee. Mr. Farr decided to make the fight by the use of stickers and 
was elected by 627 majority, a great and wonderful victory, notwithstanding that 
fully 500 votes for him were thrown out on account of misplaced stickers in a dis- 
trict whose Republican majority was between 350 and 400. Mr. Farr's educational 
bills have given him a state reputation. Few measures before the Legislature 
have awakened a greater interest in the State than those championed by Mr. Farr. 
He has also introduced a mechanics' lien bill which has been indorsed by the la- 
bor unions of the State. He is one of the most active and intelligent members of 
the House and has a promising future. 



House of Representativeii. 



191 



JOHN P. QUINNAN is serviug his first 
term in the House, representing the 
Second district of Lackawanna county. 
He was born April 18, 1859, in the 
Twelfth ward of the city of Scranton 
aud was educated in the public schools 
of that city, graduating from the high 
school in 1877, being the valedictorian 
of his class. He has been engaged in 
teaching school in Scranton for a number 
of years and enjoys the credit of being 
one of the best and most successful 
pedagogues in that section of the state. 
During the administration of Mayor 
Beamish Mr. Quinnan was a member of 
the Scranton Board of Health. For a 
number of years he has been a member 
of the Permanent Certificate Committee 
of Lackawanna county. He is also a 
member of the commission for the e.x- 
amination of candidates for West Point. 
In 1889 he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for mayor of Scranton, 
and, although defeated, made a very creditable showing. 

Mr. Quinnan was elected a member of the House of Representatives in 1892 over 
Frank T. Okell, his Republican competitor, by a vote of 3,062 to 3,039. He takes 
an active part in the proceedings of the Legislature and is one of the most energetic 
members of the Committees on Vice and Immorality. Judicial Apportionment and 
Retrenchment and Reform. He introduced the bill providing for the appointment 
of a board of railroad commissioners, which was adversely reported by the Rail- 
road Committee. Mr. Quinnan also introduced a number of other bills, the most 
important of which are those providing for the appointment of peace officers in this 
commonwealth, commonly known as the anti-Pinkerton bill, aud the measure 
providing for the election of the officers of the fire department in cities of the third 
class. Mr. Quinnan lost a leg by a railroad accident when five years old. He is a 
plain, logical speaker, and has always been listened to with marked attention 
when discu.ssiug legislation on the floor of the House. 





192 



House of Representatives. 




FRANK T. OKELL was born in 
Scrauton on November 15, 1866. 
When he attained the proper age he 
was sent by his parents to the public 
schools ofScranton, and after gratifying 
progress in them went to the military in- 
stitute at Bordenton, New Jersey, 
where he spent three years. After the 
completion of his studies at Bordenton 
he was appointed by Congressman 
Scrantou a cadet to the Naval Academy 
at Annapolis, and in that institution 
put in three years, when he returned to 
his native city to take up the study of 
law. He entered the law office of Judge 
Knapp, and was admitted to the bar of 
Lackawanna county in November, 1890, 
and is now a practicing attorney in the 
city ofScranton. Before being admitted 
to the bar he taught school for one 
term. From 1888 until the spring of 
the present year he served as secretary of the school board in Scranton, and had 
the distinction of being the youngest person who ever held that important position 
on the board. He was also secretary of the Republican county committee for two 
years. Mr. Okell did not take his seat in the House until near the close of the 
session, when, by a decision of the Committee on Elections, he succeeded Hon. 
John P. Quinnan, Democrat. 




House of Representatives. 



193 




WILLIAM K. BECK, of Lacka- 
wanna county, Avas born at Lock- 
port, Northampton county, August 13, 
1849. His parents came of the old Ger- 
man stock who settled along the Lehigh 
prior to the revolutionary war, and his 
father and mother were born in the 
early part of this century near the spot 
where William himself saw the first 
light of the world. His father for 
many years was a merchant and hotel 
keeper at Lockport, and at the same 
same time successfully prosecuted the 
lumber business and was the owner of 
several fine farms in the vicinity. He 
afterward became a contractor of rail- 
roads, and this business he profitably 
carried on in many states of the Union. 
The senior Mr. Beck was always a Ee- 
publican and cast his vote for Harri- 
son and Tyler in 1841. He came from 
sturdy people, who were known for their longevity, and when he died was more 
than eighty years old. His wife attained nearly the same age. The son, William 
K. Beck, was educated in the common schools of Easton, for a short while in a 
private school and finally spent two years and a half at the Wyoming Seminary at 
Kingston, Luzerne county. About twenty-two years ago he located in Moscow, 
Lackawanna county, where he engaged in the business of merchant and lumber 
manufacturer (which he is still prosecuting), and to which he has added the elec- 
tric light business. He was twice a candidate for Representative in his district, 
being defeated the first time. At the last election he received nearly 500 majoritv. 
When M. S. Quay was a candidate for State Treasurer in 1885, Mr. Beck was one 
of the eleven delegates representing Lackawanna and Luzerne counties in the 
State convention, and was the only one who cast his vote for Mr. Quay. He has 
been a member of the Lackawanna County Republican Committee for eight years 
and has always taken an active interest in the affairs of his party in that county. 
In the House he is serving on the following committees : Manufactures, Corpora- 
tions, Railroads, Mines and Mining, Coal and Iron and Banks. He introduced the 
bill for the incorporation and government of cities of third class and providing for 
the annexation thereto of adjoining territory. 




18 



194 



House of Representatives. 




MICHAEL T. BURKE, who is serv- 
ing his second term as a represen- 



tative from Lackawanna county, was 
born in Ireland, December 8,1848. When 
eighteen months old he was brought to 
this country by his parents, who located 
in Carbondale, where Mr. Burke has 
lived almost continuously. He was 
educated in the common schools and in 
the De LaSalle Institute, of New York. 
His first work was at slate picking on 
the coal breakers, and he kept working 
in and about the mines until he went 
through all the grades of the business, 
and finally became a practical miner. 
He then learned the blacksmithing 
trade, which he followed until disabled 
by an injury. Beingof temperate habits, 
he gathered around him a dozen other 
j'oung men and organized the first 
Father Matthew Total Abstinence and 
Beneficial Society in the State of Pennsylvania, which has since resulted in the 
formation of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union ]of America, of which he is still a 
member. He has frequently represented the diocese of Scranton in the union; of 
a studious nature, he advanced until he became a reporter on one of the Boston 
papers. Returning to Carbondale, he commenced school teaching, and at the same 
time studied law. In 1877 he connected himself with the Knights of Labor, and 
in that body became a prominent member. He represented Lackawanna county at 
the first state convention of the organization held in Harrisburg, April, 1887, and 
was presented with a silk United States flag by G. M. W. Hon. T. V. Powderly, 
in accordance with a resolution passed by the convention. In 1892 he represented 
the diocese of Scranton in the total abstinence convention held in Indianapolis. He 
was supervisor of Carljondale township for one term, auditor of Carbondale city 
for three years and city treasurer for three years. In the House of Representatives 
Mr. Burke is a very attentive member and takes an active interest in legislative 
affairs. By his prominence in the Knights of Labor, he is considered by them 
one of their best representatives on the floor of the House. He served on the fol- 
lowing committees: Appropriation, Banks, Mines and Mining and Compare Bills, 
Governor's inauguration and centennial aflairs 1891. 



%i 



House of Representatives. 



195 



GEORGE FORREST, of the city dis- 
trict, Lancaster, is literally a self- 
made mau and, as a citizen, ise deserv- 
ing of all credit. He was born on 
Manor street, Lancaster, January 2, 
1852, and was educated in the publio 
schools of that city. He then learned 
the art of printing under the late Stuart 
A. Wj'lie, who in his day Avas one of 
the best and most artistic printers in 
Pennsylvania. When quite a young 
man Mr. Forrest went to New Haven, 
Conn., where he held a responsible posi- 
ble in the office of the late E. M. Reed, 
then vice-president and superintendent 
of the New York, New Haven and Hart- 
ford Railroad Compauj'. Returning to 
Lancaster he became associated with 
his brother. Henry, in the tobacco busi- 
ness. The latter died in March, 1882. 
Mr. Forrest is now, and has been since 
1882, a tobacco inspector for the firm of F. C. Linde, Hamilton & Co., of New York, 
the most extensive tobacco inspecting firm in the world. He gives employment to 
hundreds of people of l^ancaster. 

Mr. Forrest's father, who is still living at the advanced age of seventy-three 
years, was for a long time a manufacturer of the old-fashioned powder-horns at 
one time so popular with hunters — making them out of horn. Mr. Forrest is an 
active and enthusiastic Democrat and in 1892 was elected to the Legislature in a 
district which usually goes Republican, by about 700 majority, his opponent being 
Walter W. Franklin, who served in the House in 1889 and 1891. Mr. Forrest is 
popular with his employes and every one with whom he comes in contact. He is 
a man of more than ordinary intelligence, has done much good in the community 
in which he lives and enjoys the respect of all who know him. He takes a keen 
interest in the aftaivs of the House and is a member of the most important com- 
mittees. Mr. Forrest is a member of the Lancaster school board. 





196 



House of Represerdatives. 




MILTON EBY, aiwpularand wealthy 
farmer of Paradise township, Lan- 



caster county, was born on October 16, 
1850. He was born and raised on the 
farm on which he now lives, and is a 
staunch Republican. All his life has 
been spent on this farm, with the ex- 
ception of considerable time devoted to 
his duties as a public oi3Scial. At an 
early age he was sent to the district 
school for a few months each term. He 
assisted his father in growing tobacco 
until eighteen years of age, when he 
was sent to the Union High School, near 
his home. One year was sufficient, as 
he became disgusted with it, and again 
took up the duties on the farm. Upon 
the death of his father he took charge 
of the large farm and began buying and 
selling live stock, in which he was re- 
markably successful, and succeeded in 
establishing a reputation as a business man. At the urgent solicitation of his 
friends he was made prison inspector in 1887, and served for three years. It was 
while filling this position that he became well known as a man of sound judg- 
ment and an all-around capable man. In 1891 he was elected a member of the 
House of Representatives, where he succeeded in having a number of important 
measures passed, which secured his re-election for the following term. Among the 
most important bills in which Mr. Eby was interested in 1891 was the one pro- 
viding for an appropriation of !f!143,000 to the Millersville State Normal School, 
and it was at this time that he made himself felt in the Legislature. The ap- 
propriation was intended for the completion of two large buildings in course of 
erection at this institution. Mr. Eby is chairman of the Committee on Accounts 
and a member of the Committee on Vice and Immorality, Ways and Means and 
Pensions and Gratuities, in all of which he took an active part and was among 
the most punctual members. 



Kk^ 



House of Rtpresentatives. 



197 



MILTON HEIDELBAUGH, a prom- 
inent citizen of Bart township 
Lancaster county, was born April 19, 
1843. His father was a farmer and a 
life-long resident of southern Lancaster 
county. Mr. Heidelbaugh's family is 
of the Presbyterian faith. His education 
was obtained in the public schools, ex- 
cept two years when he attended the 
Maple Grove Academy. After he left 
school he began to look around for some 
cougenial employment. Not particu- 
larly in love with farming, he tried 
teaching school and taught quite suc- 
cessfully for three terms. He then en- 
gaged in the general merchandise busi- 
ness, and the next twenty years find him 
thus engaged at Nickel Mines, where, 
by his courteous and affable manner and 
strict attention to business, he soon built 
up a large trade. He has lately sold his 
store and removed his family to Lancaster, which affords better advantages for edu- 
cating his children and more convenient for his present business, that of manu- 
facturing hard wood and lumber. He was considered an authority on all local 
matters and served as school director for nine years, discharging his duties in that 
capacity faithfully and j udiciously . He is a prominent and euthusiactic member of 
the Octoraro Presbyterian church, here, as elsewhere, he is found exerting a bene- 
ficial influence, and being of a kind disposition, the poor and needy know where 
to come and not come in vain. His judgment is sound and can be relied on, and 
not easily swayed by public opinion. He takes an active interest in politics, being 
a staunch Republican. He was elected by his party to the House of Representa- 
tives in 1885 and again in 1892, and is serving on the Committees of Manufacturing, 
Centennial Affairs, Vice and Immorality, Fish and Game. He manifests a deep 
interest, and by his cool and collected manner commands universal respect and 
esteem. 




X 



198 



House of Representatives. 



PHILIP A. PYLE, the well-known 
druggist, was born in Mount Joy, 
Lancaster county, on July 16, 1842. At 
an early age he entered the Mount Joy 
Academy, which was at that time one 
of the foremost schools of tlie state, and 
sent out men who have since become 
tamous. After leaving this institution 
lie served an apprenticeship in the drug 
business and afterwards read medicine 
with Dr. J. L. Zeigler, but after prepar- 
ing himself to enter college, an accident 
befel his preceptor in the drug business, 
which resulted fatally, and Mr. Pyle, 
by the advice of his friends, purchased 
the drug store and entered the business, 
which he has conducted successfuUj' for 
a period of thirty years. He is at 
present a member of the State and 
County Pharmaceutical societies, and 
has acquired and maintained a reputa- 
tion in his business fur exactness and care that is proverbial, from its inception 
to the winding up of its affairs. Mr. Pyle was treasurer of the Mount Joy Build- 
ing and Loan Association. He is a member of the borough industrial committee 
was a member of the school board for twelve consecutive years. He was the prime 
mover in having the new high school building erected, which is the finest in the 
county. He is a member of Post 478, G. A. R., having been a private in company 
E, Tenth regiment Pennsylvania militia and a man of intelligence, sound judgment 
and unquestionable integrity ; one who has the courage of his convictions and who 
can always be depended upon. Mr. Pyle is a director in the Union National Bank 
at Mount Joy and has been treasurer of the borough fire department. He was never 
married but is one of the most j)opular and influential citizens of Mount Joy. 





House of Representatives. 



199 




AUGUSTUS G. SEYFERT was boru 
in Berks county, Pa., April 26, 
1852. Two years later his parents 
moved to Bowmans%'ille, Lancaster 
county, where Mr. Seyfert's boyhood 
dajs were spent, most of the time in 
the village school. In 1868 his mother 
died and soon after he left his old home 
and started life on the farm of ex-Re- 
corder Martin, a leading politician of 
East Earl township. Mr. Seyfert's edu- 
cation was obtained in the public 
schools and several sessions at the Mil- 
lersville Normal School. The country 
literary society was the best practical 
school to tit him for his legislative du- 
ties and made his popularity in his 
county so conspicuous as a lyceum ora- 
tor. In 1872 Mr. Seyfert began teach- 
ing and taught in the public schools of 
Lancaster county for many years. He 
was recognized as one of the most successful and progressive teachers in the county. 
In 1886 Mr. Seyfert was elected president of the New Holland teacher's institute 
district, comprising nearly a hundred schools, and has been unanimously re-elected 
every year since. In 1889 he conceived the idea of holding an open air educa- 
tional meeting at Rutland Park, a pic-nic resort on the Welsh mountain. The 
project was an immense success from the start, a result of his executive ability, 
and has already done a marvelous amount of good to promote school sentiment in 
favor of popular education. In 1890 Mr. Seyfert was nominated by the Eepubli- 
cans from the northern district for Assembly, receiving the largest popular vote ol 
any candidate ever elected from the county. He became familiar with legislative 
doings and as a member of the Committee on Education took a prominent part in 
shaping the legislation in behalf of education during the session. The author of 
the Reed resolution, endorsing Speaker Reed's course as patriotic and to the best 
interest of good government, and the eloquent plea for single legislative districts, 
made him a conspicuous and brilliant member. In 1892 Mr. Seyfert was re-nomi- 
nated and re-elected with practically no opposition. He was assigned the chair- 
manship of Federal Relations and also appointed on the Committees on Education, 
Judiciary Local, Library and Compare Bills. The experience of one session made 
him one of the most active and useful members of the House. Among the bills he 
introduced where those to provide for closer supervision of the public school, to 
pay school directors for attending the triennial conventions, to extend the mimi- 
num school term to seven months and to change Labor Day from Monday to Sat- 
urday. In educational matters he is recognized as a leader. Mr. Seyfert took 
great interest in the bill to appropriate §5,000 to complete the Revolutionary 
monument at Ephrata. He showed an intelligent knowledge of every bill on the 
file and was always ready to defend his measures and point out the defects in 
others. His progressive ideas on all subjects pertaining to the pul)lic schools is 
not only a credit to himself but to the intelligence of his constituents whom he so 
well represents, and in years hence his reputation as a promoter and defender of 
popular education will compare well with that of Stevens from his own county as 
the eloquent champion of legislation to advance our public schools to the best in 
the country. 



200 



House cf Representatives. 




y 



OHN S. WILSON, of Columbia, 
Lancaster county, who was born De- 
cember 29, 1863, is very popular with 
the young men of his borough, where 
he has spent most of his life. He re- 
ceived a thorough education in the pub- 
lic schools of his native borough and 
also at Canandaugua. N. Y. He always 
showed much interest in all athletic 
sports and devoted much time to per- 
fecting himself in these recreations. His 
father being a man of considerable 
means, his son John was allowed to fol- 
low his own inclinations, which soon 
carried him out of the schoolroom and 
into the far away west, linally locating 
in New Mexico, where, after roving 
about, he associated himself with a 
ranchman and took up the life of a cattle 
ranger. He became very fond of this 
life, but at the earnest solicitation of his 
parents and friends he returned to his home at Columbia in 1883. He entered 
his father's hardware store and devoted considerable time to this business, but 
outdoor life suited him better, and baseball, fishing, hunting, horse racing and 
like sports soon Avon most of his time, which he devoted to them in the past few 
years. At the last election he was nominated by the Republican party for the 
House of Eepresentatives and elected as a member. Mr. Wilson has taken little 
part in the discussion of bills, but introduced a bill repealing an act providing for 
the election of a county solicitor by a vote of the people and extending the term 
of tax collectors of borough and townships from one to three years. Another bill 
providing for the same passed before Mr. Wilson's bill was reached. He is a 
member of the following committees: Compare Bills, City Passenger Railways, In- 
surance, Judicial Apportionments and Coal and Iron. He had R. S. Conkliu, of 
Columbia, appointed as message clerk. 




House of Representatives. 



201 




ALGERNON LUTHER MARTIN, 
one of the Representatives from 
Lawrence county, was born in North 
Beaver, that county, on August 26, 
1844. He received his education in the 
common schools, at Mount Jackson 
High school and at Polan'd College in 
Ohio. He is now engaged in farming, 
and has been all his life more or less 
interested in that pursuit. He has 
always taken a deep interest in the 
public school system of the state and in 
the schools of his native town, and for 
a period of eight years served as school 
director in the townships of Little 
Beaver and North Beaver. He was 
elected to the office of road supervisor 
in his native township and served in 
that capacity for a period of two years. 
During 1891 and 1892 he was a member 
of the Republican County Committee 
of Lawrence county. In 1892 he was nominated for the office of Representative 
and elected by the handsome vote of 4.339, as against 2,317 cast for his highest 
competitor on the Democratic ticket. In the session of 1893 he Avas appointed by 
Speaker Thompson on the Committee on Agriculture, Vice and Immorality', 
Counties and Townships, Pensions and Gratuities and Manufactures. He intro- 
duced a bill at this session prohibiting the furnishing of liquor by sale, gift or 
otherwise on Decoration day, and made one of the most gallant fights to have it 
adopted as the law of the land that was made upon any bill during the session of 
1893; but the sentiment of the House was against this measure and it was defeated 
on second reading. He offered the amendment to the Nesbit road bill requiring 
the state to appropriate three million dollars annually for the construction and 
improvement of the highways of the commonwealth, and succeeded in having it 
inserted in the face of the most strenuous opposition. He is thoroughly in favor 
of the equalization of taxation and was an able chamiiion of the Niles revenue bill. 
Mr. Martin is a forcible and eloquent speaker, and whenever he addresses the 
House receives respectful consideration and attention. He has the courage of his 
convictions upon all questions, and in all that he says and does places himself 
honestly and fearlessly on the record. The sincerity of his speech is evidenced by 
the sincerity of his conduct. He took high ranks among the members of the 
House of Representatives of the session of 1893 as an all round useful member. 




-i#*'^^t 



202 



House of Representatives. 




H' 



ENRY WORTHINGTON GRIGSBY 
was born in Shenango township, 
Lawrence county, on the 30th day ot 
September, 1855. His ancestors on his 
mother's side came from Ireland and 
were among the earliest settlers of Law- 
rence county, his grandmother having 
resided in that county for a period of 
two years before seeing a white woman. 
On the father's side they were among 
the pioneers of Virginia, and came from 
Winchester to Pennsylvania. Mr. 
Grigsby went through the common and 
high school of Newcastle, graduated at 
the One Study College there and in 1876 
entered the Bethany College of West 
Virginia, taking a classical course and 
graduating in 1879. He is a farmer, 
stone contractor and engaged in the real 
estate business in Newcastle. In 1892 
he was elected a Representative of his 
native county on the Republican ticket, receiving the largest vote of any man on 
the ticket. He is on the Committees on Education, Compare Bills, Insurance, 
Public Buildings, Mines and Mining. The first bill introduced by him was one 
making Lawrence county a separate judicial district. Second a free text-book 
bill, pioviding for a convention of the county, city and borough superintendeuts of 
the commonwealth, they to select from their number a commission composed of 
three members. This commission to select a series of text-books from those now 
in use if satisfactory, or to adopt new ones. After adopting a system the books to 
be published by the state as other state printing is now done ; the state superin- 
tendent of public printing and the commission to fix the price of publishing the 
books. The system to be adopted within four years and furnished to the pupils 
free of cost. The sum of $30,000 is appropriated for the purpose of purchasing 
copy rights. Third, an act to make the carrying on of the business of a detective 
without a license a misdemeanor, said license to be granted by the court of quarter 
sessions of the county within which the principal office is to be located. Applica- 
tion for appointment to be signed by at least twenty-five good citizens certifying 
to moral character of applicant and a bond to be given in the sum of $2,000. 
Fourth, an act providing for a state board of surveyors to be composed of 
three members to be appointed by the Governor, to formulate rules providing for 
uniformity of practice among surveyors of the state. Any person wishing to fol- 
low occupation of surveying must be examined by this commission. 




Ihw^e of Rejyresentaiiveff. 



203 




THOMAS WALKER, who in part 
represents Lebanon county, was 
born in Jonestown, of that county, May 
5, 18'28. He was educated in the schools 
of that village, and subsequently filled 
the position of teacher for several win- 
ters. He learned cabinet-making, but 
spent a large portion of his life travel- 
ing for liquor firms. It is thirty years 
since he began this business, and when 
the Legislature is not in session still 
follows it. He was United States assist- 
ant assessor for over six years. Mr. 
Walker was an officer of the Senate 
thirty years ago, when the late George 
Dawson Coleman was a member of that 
body. He was a messenger, which office 
Avas then known as postmaster. He has 
been congressional, senatorial and judi- 
cial conferee from his county and has rep- 
resented it as a delegate in state con- 
ventions of the Eepublicau party, of which he has always been an ardent mem- 
ber. He also held the office of mercantile appraiser of Lebanon county. At the 
last primary election ten candidates were contesting for the nomination lor mem- 
ber of the House, and he had the highest vote. He was first elected to the Legis- 
lature in 1890, and two years afterward was honored with a re-election. At the 
session of 1893 he was a member of the Judiciary Local, Agricultural, Centennial, 
Judicial, Apportionment and Accounts Committees. His father was born in Mont- 
gomery county. Pa., and was married at Jonestown in 1814. His paternal ances- 
tors were from England. Kepresentative Walker enjoys the reputation of having 
faithfully nerformed his legislative duties. 




204 



House of Representatives. 




J 



rOHN K. RELNOEHL, Lebanon 
county, is a native of that county, 
having been born in the city of Lebanon 
August 3, 1858. He passed through 
the public schools of his native city, 
and after he had attended a course in 
the high school of his native city he 
prepared himself for a collegiate course 
at Swatara Institute, Jonestown. Leba- 
non county. At the completion of his 
preparatory course he entered Muhlen- 
burg College, at Allentown, Lehigh 
county, in 1875, from which college he 
was graduated in 1879. Returning to 
Lebanon he studied medicine with Dr. 
George P. Liueaweaver, a prominent 
and successful practitioner of medicine, 
and after he had finished his studies he 
attended a further course in the medical 
department of the University of Penn- 
sylvania, in Philadelphia, and was 
graduated therefrom on ISIarch 15, 1882. He then returned to Lebanon and at 
once began the practice of medicine and has built up a successful and lucrative 
practice. He follows his profession at the present time, and had conferred upon 
him the honorary degree of A. M. by Muhlenberg College in 1882. He was a 
member of the National Guaid of Pennsylvania from 1878 to 1883, and receiving 
an honorable discharge when his enlistment expired, occupied the position of 
coroner's physician in Lebanon county from 1883 to 1885 and 1889 to 1891. In 
1885, 1886, 1890 and 1891 he was a member of the Board of Health of Lebanon 
county, and he has been secretary of the Board of United States Examining Sur- 
geons for Pensions since 1889, which position he resigned when elected to the 
Legislature. Dr. Reinoehl is an active Republican and possesses the confidence of 
his party in Lebanon county and of his political associates in the Legislature. 
In 1892 he was nominated for and elected to the House from Lebanon county. He 
has been assigned to the following committees: Manufactures. Federal Relations, 
Health and Sanitation, Municipal Cor^wrations and Public Building,s. 



House of Representatives. 



205 




MILTON NEITZ BERNHARD was 
born on June 7, 1846, near the bor- 
ough ot Macungie, Lehigh county. His 
ancestors came from the Province of 
Alsace and settled in Berks county, near 
Eeadiug. about 1748. His father Avas a 
custom tailor near the borough of Ma- 
cungie. Mr. Bernhard was educated in 
the public schools of his native county, 
in the various academies located there 
and was also the pupil of a private tu- 
tor in Allentown. In speaking of this 
he said, "I received ray first lessons in 
Latin from a Low Dutchman and learned 
more Low Dutch than Latin." After 
his school days were over he became a 
teacher and taught in the public schools 
of the city of Allentown for twelve 
years, having charge of the Second and 
Third ward grammar schools. After- 
wards moved to New York, but the love 
of old Pennsylvania in general, and of Lehigh county in particular, brought him 
back to Allentown in the year 1885. He is not a politician, in the general sense 
in which that word is used, and was only induced to become a candidate for the 
Legislature at the solicitation of friends. In 1890 he was elected to the House by 
a handsome majority on the Democratic ticket. In 1892 he was elected for a 
second term, receiving more votes both for the nomination and election than any 
man on the ticket. He was appointed by the Speaker a member of the Committee 
on Municipal Corporations, City Passenger Railways and Corporations. He intro- 
duced the bill requiring that telegraph operators on any railroad in Pennsylvania 
shall be at least twenty years of age before they are allowed to handle train orders. 
This was negatived in committee and afterwards, through the efforts of Mr. Bern- 
hard, was put on the calendar and passed finally after a hard fight. 

Also an act granting an appropriation to St. Luke's Hospital, Bethlehem, the 
first appropriation from the state for which was procured by him at the last session. 
The act of 1869 provided that a surviving partner should not testify. Under the 
act of 1887 the courts have held that the heirs and legatees of such surviving part- 
ners might testify. Mr. Bernhard introduced a bill providing that their mouths 
shall be closed as well as that of the surviving partner, which was considered a 
very just and necessary piece of legislation. Mr. Bernhard takes a great interest 
in all legislation affecting the public schools, in which he was so long a teacher, as 
well as that which in any v,ay affects his section of the commonwealth. He is a 
genial, companionable man and an interesting speaker. He can always be found 
in his seat when the House is in session. 



206 



House of Represtntatives. 



MICHAEL J. LENNON, of Lehigh 
county, was born at Laury'a sta- 
tion, Pa., in the county he in part rep- 
resents, May 30, 1860. He was educated 
in the public and private schools ot 
North and South Whitehall township 
until his sixteenth year, when he en- 
tered the othce of the Lehigh Valley 
Eailroad Company at Catasauqua to 
learn telegraphJ^ His tutor was William 
H. Mealy, now the general superintend- 
ent of the Mexican National Railway 
Company, located at Laredo, Texas, 
under whose watchful eye the subject 
of this sketch progressed rapidly and in 
due time graduated as a full fledged 
telegraph operator and entered the ser- 
vice of the railroad companj' at once. 
He was located at various ottices along 
the entire system and transferred from 
one division to another until he was 
recognized as one of the mnst trust- 
worthy operators on the line, having served in all of the important offices. In 
1884 he was promoted to the position of train dispatcher in the office of the late 
H.Stanley Goodwin, the general superintendent, which position he filled creditably 
for six years. In 1890 he was placed in charge of the new Schuylkill and Lehigh 
Valley branch running to Pottsville, which position he held up to the time of his 
election to the Legislature; the very complimentary vote he received along the line 
of the railroad was a testimonial of the esteem in which he was held by his asso- 
ciates in the service with whom he was associated continuously for a period of over 
sixteen years. Has resided in Allen town since 1885, where he has served his dis- 
trict for three years as school director and has twice been re-elected to city councils. 
Asa councilman he was progressive and the author of several reforms in the 
municipal government, served as a member of the Finance Committee and Board 
of Appeals. He was chairman of the Highway and Railroad committees. He re- 
signed as member of council when elected to the Legislature. He is a member of 
the AUentown board of trade and several other bodies. In the House of Repre- 
sentatives he served on the Education, Public Health and Pensions and Gratuities 
committees and introduced a bill asking for $10,000 for the support and mainte- 
nance of a public hospital in AUentown. 




House of Representatives. 



207 




J' 



OSEPH C. RUPP, one of the three 
Democratic representatives from Le- 
liigh county, was born in Upper Me- 
cungie township, Lehigh county, March 
19, 1848. He began his education in 
the common schools of his native town- 
ship and finished it in the Kej'stone 
State Normal School at Kutztown, gradu- 
ating in 1870, after three years' connec- 
tion with the institution. He taught 
school fourteen years in the township of 
his birth. After retiring from his pro- 
fession he purchased a farm, and has 
worked on it since when not otherwise 
engaged. He has held the positions of 
as.sessor and school director in his 
township, and in 1883 was nominated 
by the Democrats of Lehigh county for 
recorder of deeds and elected by an over- 
whelming majority. In 1892 his party 
showed its appreciation of his worth by 
selecting him as one of the candidates for the Legislature, and the people of the 
county ratified its action by giving him nearly 2,800 majority. He has always 
been held in high esteem by the political organization with Avhich he is identified, 
and has repeatedly been a delegate to county conventions. In the House he served 
on the Committees on Legislative Apportionment, Constitutional Keform and 
Geological Survey. Mr. Rupp's father was a member of the House in 1856 and 
1857 from the county which his son now represents, aud served as brigadier gen- 
eral of the militia of Pennsylvania from 1849 to 1859. Mr. Rupp's ancestors were 
from Switzerland. 




208 



House of Representatives. 




W 



ILLIAM HALL BRODHEAD was 
born in the Seventh Avard of Phila- 
delphia in 1857. In 1873 removed with 
his family to Mauch Chunk and fiom 
that place into the Wyoming Valley 
region. Since that time has been en- 
gaged about the mines in various ca- 
pacities. He is a direct descendant of 
Captain Daniel Brodhead, of the British 
army, who came to this country in 1664 
for the purpose of protecting British in- 
terests in the Dutch settlement, and 
settled on the Hudson river. Two of 
the Captain's grandsons came over into 
Pennsylvania, and one of them, Daniel 
Brodhead, who died in 1754, is now 
buried in the Moravian cemetery at 
Bethlehem. His son, Daniel Brodhead, 
was on Washington's staff, and the first 
surveyor general of Pennsylvania. So 
it will be seen that the subject of this 
sketch comes from good old revolutionary ancestry. He received his education 
in the public schools of Philadelphia. Had never held any political office before 
moving to Wilkes-Barre in 1890, though had taken a lively interest in politics. 
Six mouth after moving to the above mentioned city he was delegate to the Lu- 
zerne County convention. In 1892 he was elected to the Legislature on the Demo- 
cratic ticket and ran 350 votes ahead of President Cleveland in his district. He 
was put on the Committee on Military Affairs, Corporations, Judiciary, Local and 
Retrenchment and Reform. He introduced a bill creating a Mining institution 
for the purpose of educating young men in the several branches of mining, to bet- 
ter fit them to become foremen and fire bosses ; also a bill for the purification and 
improvement of the water supply in the Wyoming Valley; also a bill providing for 
the repeal of an act which requires the tax collector of Wilkes-Barre to be ap- 
pointed, and providing that the office shall become an elective one, to be filled by 
the votes of the people and bill providing that the funeral expenses of paupers 
shall be paid by the county, instead as now by the poor district in which such in- 
digent person had a residence. Mr. Brodhead takes a very active interest in the 
National guard and is now the senior captain of the Ninth regiment. He and his 
boys did service at Homestead last fall for five weeks. As will be seen by the 
number and character of the bills he has presented, he takes a lively interest in 
aftairs aftecting his constituents, and attends well to the duties devolving upon 
him as a member. 



Jff\\s 



House of Representatives. 



209 




JOHN CRAWFORD HARVEY was 
J born at Harveyville, Luzerne 
county, Pa., on May 6, 1860. He is the 
eldest son of the late A. N. Harvey, who 
was well knoAvn throughout that part 
of the state. His mother, who is 
still living, was the daughter of the 
late Dr. John S. Crawford, of Williams- 
port, Pa., one of the most prominent 
physicians in Northern Pennsylvania, 
and who.se tragic death sliocked the 
whole city and threw a large commu- 
nity into sudden grief. His father was a 
very successful business man, having 
large and varied interests, being par- 
ticularly engaged as a merchant, farmer, 
stock raiser, flour and feed mill and 
lumbering. The Harvey family came 
originally from Connecticut and was 
one of the pioneer fomilies in the Wy- 
oming Valley, some of the members be- 
ing engaged in the battle of Wyoming in 1778 at the time of the terrible massacre. 
They have always been prominent in this community, both in business and 
socially. Mr. Harvey was educated in the district schools, and in June, 1880, 
graduated with honors from Dickinson Seminary at Williamsport, taking the de- 
gree of Bachelor of Science. After the completion of his school life he returned 
to his home, engaging in active business with his father as partner. In 1882 and 
1884 he made extensive tours through the west and northwest, and after his 
return accepted a position of responsibility with the Pennsylvania railroad at 
•Camden, N. J., and afterward transferred to Jersey City. In February, 1889, he 
was compelled to resign from the service of the company on account of broken 
health. Locating at Duluth, Minn., in November, 1889, he engaged in real estate 
business. The bracing winter of that region was wonderful in restoring health 
and strength. On account of the sudden death of his father in October, 1890, he 
was compelled to give up his Imsiness venture in the northwest and return home 
to take charge of the varied interests of his lather's estate. The village of Har- 
veyville was directly in the path of the terrible cyclone of 1890 and the destruc- 
tion was probably greater here than at any other point. Mr. Harvey has always 
been active in political circles and years before he cast his first vote was busy in 
furthering the interests of the Republican party. He was a delegate to the State 
convention in 1891 and is always present at the county convention proceedings. 
In the contest which resulted in electing Mr. Harvey as Representative he received 
2,849 votes as against 2,427 for his Democratic opponent and 425 fur the Prohibi- 
tion candidate in the district at large, running ahead of the presidential vote. 
Mr. Harvey is a member of the following committees in this Legislature, viz : 
Agriculture, Library, (Corporations, Municijial Corporations and Education, being 
chosen by the Speaker as secretary of the latter committee, a recognition that is 
not often bestowed on a new member for so important a committee. He has been a 
valuable member for his district and early earned the reputation as one of the most 
devoted of members to his work. He introduced bills relating to election of 
supervisors in townships; also a bill relating to fraudalent entries of trotting and 
pacing hor.ses out of their proper cla.sses ; also bill giving municipalities right to 
buy water from private com])anies and store the same, and bill regulating the 
bond given l)v nmniciiial corporations 
14 ■ 



in certain cases. 



210 



House of Representatives. 



DANIEL J. REESE, of the Third dis- 
trict, Luzerne, was born December 

/^'^'d^BlP^ '^' ^^^'^' ^* Mountain Ash, South Wales. 

^^n'C^MpPl^riiMk He came to this country when Aery 

W ^^^^m young and was educated in the public 

schools of the counties of Schuylkill, 
Carbon and Luzerne. He also attended 
the Wyoming Seminar}' during a por- 
tion of the years 1877 and '78. For 
many years he has been employed in 
and about a coal mine, advancing from 
the position of a slate picker in the 
breaker to an expert miner. He has 
filled the offices of register, assessor of 
Plymouth borough, and has served sev- 
eral times on the election board in the 
district in which he resides. For two 
years he was a member of the Luzerne 
Couuty Republican committee. In 1892 
he was elected to the Legislature, and 
is a member of the House Committees 
on Elections, Legislative Apportionment, Mines and Mining, and Labor and In- 
dustry. He takes an active interest in legislation, especially to that pertaining to 
the section he i-epresents, and the laboring man. These bills were introduced by 
Mr. Reese : Providing that miners shall appoint check-weighmen to see that they 
are propei-ly credited for the amount of coal mined, and that 2,240 pounds shall 
constitute a ton; to exclude all impure and explosive oils as illuminants in coal 
mines; to amend an act so as to provide for an assistant district attorney in coun- 
ties containing a population of 150,000 inhabitants; to enforce article fifty-first of 
the constitution, and increasing the salaries of certain county officers. For seven- 
teen years he has been closely allied with labor unions, and during all this time he 
has been faithful in all his official acts. Mr. Reese has written a number of very 
beautiful poems which have been widely published. He is an intelligent, faith- 
ful and conscientious legislator and a credit to his constituents. 




House of Representatives. 



211 




WILLIAM R. JEFFREY, Represent- 
ative from the Fourth district of 
Luzerne county, was born October 12, 
1857, at Slatington, Lehigh county, Pa. 
His father was a contractor for quarrj'- 
ing roofing slate, and his son. William, 
worked in the quarries for a number of 
years in summer and attended the pub- 
lic schools in winter. At the age of 
seventeen years young Jeffrey accom- 
panied his father to the Upper Lehigh 
coal mines in Luzerne county, in which 
he has worked ever since, except when 
serving his constituents in the Legisla- 
ture of Pennsylvania. He resides at 
Freeland, which is surrounded by coal 
mines. He has shown his popularity 
by being twice elected in a district 
which gives a natural Democratic ma- 
jority of between 700 and 800. In 1890 
he was chosen to the House by a ma- 
jority of 217, and last fall by four. His seat was contested, but a Democratic 
court decided that he w-as legalh^ entitled to a seat in the Legislature. Mr. Jef- 
frey is not only popular with his constituents of both political parties, but he is 
an honored member of the Knights of Labor, and has declined to accept a number 
ot honorable positions in the order tendered him in recognition of his worth. He 
was master workman of local a.ssembly of Knights of Labor No. 335, of Freeland. 
He was also district delegate of that order, president of the Freeland Patriotic 
Order of Sons of America, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
Red Men and Junior American Mechanics. At the session of the Legislature of 
1893 he was chairman of the committee of Bureau of Statistics and a member of 
the Appropriations, Coal and Iron, Judicial Apportionment and Vice and Immor- 
ality Committees. He was the first to introduce the bill having for its main ob- 
ject the creation of a new county out of parts of Luzerne and Schujlkill counties. 
Mr. Jeffrey has not been given to much talk on the floor of the House, but has 
demonstrated great capacity for committee work. 




212 



House oj Representatives. 



:»<p^ ^ • 



T OHN T. FLANNERY, of Pittstoii, 
J who represents the Fifth district in 
Luzerue comity, Avas born June 24, 
1862, in the town in which he resides. 
His father was a hiborer in the mines, 
and the son began work at an early date 
in a breaker and was employed about 
the mines until he was twenty-two 
years old. He availed himself of the 
limited opportunities he possessed to at- 
tend school and at a later period gradu- 
ated from the Wyoming Commercial 
College. He was clerk of the Pittston 
borough council from 1885 to 1890 and 
at the head of the Pittston borough 
Democratic committee from 1888 to 
1892. Two years ago he attended the 
Democratic State Convention as a dele- 
gate from his district. He enlisted in 
company C, of the Ninth regiment, 
National Guard of Pennsylvania, April 
12, 1881, but the company having been 
disbanded he was honorably discharged November 22, 1882. He re-enlisted in 
company H, Ninth regiment. May 28, 1883, and was elected captain of it Septem- 
ber 1, 1887, and re-elected September, 1892. This is Mr. Flannery's second term 
and at the session of 1893 he served on the Committees of Education, Insurance, 
Labor and Industry and Pensions and Gratuities. He was appointed a member of 
the committee entrusted with the preparation of resolutions on the death of James 
G. Blaine and delivered a most eloquent tribute to the public worth of the dis- 
tinguished statesman, regarded by many who listened to it as the most impressive 
of any of the speeches delivered on that occasion. Mr. Flannery introduced bills 
increasing the term of burgess to three j^ears, appropriating $25,000 to the Pittston 
hospital, to protect the revenues of the state by requiring insurance companies of 
other states and countries to do business in Peunsj'lvania through agents residing 
in this state, and to repeal the law relating to the examination of miners, passed 
in 1885, also bill appropriating $300,000 for the erection of an insane asylnm within 
twenty miles of the city of Wilkes-Barre. Mr. Flannery is an insurance agent. 





House of Representatives. 



213 



THOMAS M. MOYLES, who is serv- 
ing liis second term in the Legisla- 
ture, was born in Ireland, March 22, 
1860. His parents came to this country 
when he was only a year old, leaving 
him behind in care of his grandparents, 
where he remained until 1873, when he 
came to this country to join his i)arents, 
who then lived in the Wyoming Valley. 
His first employment was slate picking 
in the Washington coal l)reaker at Ply- 
mouth, Luzerne county. After a resi- 
dence of two years in Plymouth his 
parents moved to Laurel Run, in an- 
other part of the same county. His 
parents died in 1877, leaving young 
Thomas at the head of a large family, 
and upon him devolved the duty of tak- 
ing care of five brothers and four sisters, 
who w^ere younger. He worked hard 
night and day, but at no time did he 
neglect his studies, and soon he was al)le to stand a successful examination before 
County Superintendent Coughlin, and was admitted as a teacher in the common 
schools of Laurel Run borough. He taught school for two terms, when he was 
elected assessor in Laurel Run borough, and in 1886, when the office of tax col- 
lector became elective he was elected to that ofiice. While holding the office of 
tax collector he attended the Wyoming Seminary for a term, so as to further ad- 
vance his education, and when through with his term was elected school director 
in the borough, which position he still holds. He was always a hard-working 
Democrat, taking the lead in everything in his section of the county that tended 
to enhance the interests of his party. He was the chairman of his representative 
district before he was nominated to his first term in the Legislature in 1891. He 
was also a delegate to the State convention held in the city of Harrisburg in 1891, 
in which R. E. Wright was nominated for Auditor General and A. L. Tilden for 
State Treasurer. Mr. INIoyles is now engaged in the installment business with an 
office at Wilkes-Barre, and through him agencies are established in the several 
towns of the commonwealth. He is serving on the following standing committees 
of the Hoxise: City Passenger Railways, Municipal Corporations, Centennial Af- 
fairs and Insurance. 





2U 



House of Representatives. 



WALTER E. RITTER, of Lycoming, 
was born in Muncy Creek town- 
ship, Lycoming county, Pa., June 
"29, I860. During his boyhood days 
he attended the country schools of 
liis native township. At the age of sev- 
enteen he began teaching, following 
that occupation during the winter sea- 
sou and attending the county Normal 
school at Muncy during the summer 
for a period of seven j'ears. Mr. Ritter 
was for one year principal of the public 
schools of Hughesville and for three 
years principal of the public schools of 
South Williamsport. In 1881 he was 
graduated from the State Normal school 
at Lock Haven. He was a candidate 
for the office of county superintendent 
of public schools of Lycoming county in 
1884, but was defeated. Shortly after- 
ward he was registered as a law student 
in the otlice of Cummiugs and Reilly, and was admitted to the bar in 1886. In 
1888 Mr. Ritter was elected to the Legislature and was re-elected in 1890 and in 
1892. He has several times been a member of the State Democratic Conventions 
and in the convention of 1891, placed Robert E. Wright, of Allentown, in nomi- 
nation for the office of Auditor General. Mr. Ritter is one of the most active 
and energetic members of the lower branch of tlie Legislature. He is interested 
in any legislation which is for the good of the State and has always been a bold 
and fearless champion of the people's cause. At the organization of the session of 
1893 he was made the nominee of the Democratic caucus for Speaker, an honor 
rarely accorded one so young in years. He takes an active part in the work of the 
.standing committees of the House, being a member of the Committees on Judi- 
ciary General, Ways and Means, Railroads and Congressional Apportionment. Mr. 
Ritter is an eloquent and forcible speaker. His speech on the Hoor of the House 
in favor of the adoption of the minority report in the Higby-Andrews election was 
especially strong and convincing and called forth congratulations from prominent 
members of both parties. 





House of Representatives. 



215 




C 



*H ARLES BLANCHARD SEELY was 
born May 4, 1854, in Jersey Shore, 
Pa. He is the son of the late Colonel 
S. S. Seely, who was a well-known 
Democratic editor, anrl was educated in 
the i)ublic schools of his native town. 
At the age of twelve years he entered 
his father's printing office, where he 
learned the art of printing and has 
followed that vocation continuously, 
tilling all the positions of newsboy, ap- 
prentice, compositor and foreman to that 
of editor and publisher creditably ; and 
to-day the Jersey Shore Herald is recog- 
nized as one of the best conducted 
weekly journals in the West Branch 
Valley. Mr. Seely is systematic and 
painstaking in all his business affairs 
and has exhibited a business tact that 
justly places him in the front ranks of 
the leading young men, not only in his 
native town, but of the state. His early life was one of hardship and self-denial 
which, no doubt, developed the habit of self-reliance and which, added to his 
irreproachable character, has contributed largely to his success. He has been 
active in politics, tilling various positions, — secretary, county committee for three 
years, delegate to state and county conventions several times, mercantile appraiser 
in 1886 and served as one of a relief committee appointed at a public meeting 
after the disastrous flood of June 1, 1889, to solicit and distribute to the suffering 
victims nearly $50,000. 

In 1889 Mr. Seely resigned as president of the school board to take his seat as 
Representati've. He was elected by a very large majority and served in the sessions 
of 1890-91 so acceptably that he was re-nominated and elected for anothor term. 
Mr. Seely was converted when sixteen years old and joined the Methodist church. 
At the age of twenty-two he was appointed steward, and has held either that office 
or that of trustee ever since, and has always given liberally of his means to its 
su pport. 




216 



House of Representatives. 




pEORGE GLENN WOOD, M. D., was 
^ born near Muncj^ Pa., March 19, 

1848. He was reared on his father's farm. 
His ancestry has many historical asso- 
ciations. Captain John Wood accompan- 
ied King William to Ireland, and fought 
under liim at the battle of Boyne in 
1690, and was rewarded for gallantry 
by a grant of land in county Caveu. 
He married Isabella Bruce, a Scotch 
lady, and had two sons- -George, whose 
descendents now reside in county Dub- 
lin, Ireland, and James, who came to 
America with ^his wife, Jane, in 1730, 
and was among the first settlers In Cum- 
berland county. Pa. They settled near 
Mechanicsburg, where he died in 1750. 
His tombstone, a brown sandstone, is 
among the oldest in the Silver Spring 
Meeting House graveyard. His eldest 
son, George, married a McMeans and 
removed to the banks of the Juniata river in Juniata county, and died there in 
1808, an old man. His son, William, married Grizzy Dunlap, only daughter of 
John Dunlap, a revolutionary soldier, who was mortally wounded December 4, 
1779, at battle of Chestnut Hill. Her mother belonged to the celebrated Orr 
family, county Antrim, Ireland ; one of whom, William Orr, Avas the first martyr 
and victim of English tyranny in the Irish rebellion of 1798, and the account of 
whose fate is preserved in Irish .song and history of that period. Another, John 
Orr and his nephew, William Orr, condemned to transportation for high treason 
in the same cause, the former dying on board ship whilst chained to the nephew. 
The latter, released in 1804, was shipwrecked while on his way to what he de- 
scribed as "the land of freedom," America, and was never heard from afterwards. 
The sufferings of this noted family in behalf of Irish freedom are set forth in their 
letters carefully preserved. William Wood removed his little family to Muncy, 
Pa., in 1814, where he soon died. Thomas Wood, his eldest son, grew to man- 
hood and obtained his education under peculiar difficulties. He was noted all his life 
for great mental powers and excellent citizenship. He married Margaret Beeber, 
daughter of Colonel Jacob Beeber. He held several county offices and was elected 
from Lycoming county to the legislative session of 1855. George G. Wood, his 
son, studied medicine and graduated from Jefierson Medical College March 13, 
1872. He has continued to practice at Muncy for the past twenty years. In 
1888 he was first elected to the Legislature from Lycoming county, having the 
largest majority of any man on that ticket. In 1892 he was re-elected by 1,600 
majority, double that which he received the first time. He has paid especial at- 
tention to fire insurance legislature, because of the abuses so prevalent in settling 
losses after fires by the adjuster, and has sought to place our state in line with the 
insurance laws of neighboring states. A great lover of books, he has helped to 
place our state library in its present position, which is now the best state library 
in the Union. Fond of travel, there are few states in which he has not set foot. 



House of Representatives. 



217 



WILLIAM E. BURDICK was bom 
at Alfred, N. Y., September 6, 
1856, at which place his father was en- 
gaged in mercantile business. He came 
of old New England stock, dating back 
to about the time of the landing of the 
Mayflower, his father emigrating from 
Rhode Island to New York in early 
life. Mr. Burdick was educated in the 
common schools and Alfred University, 
graduating from the latter in 1876. He 
studied law in New York and Pennsyl- 
vania and was admitted to the bar at 
Smethport, McKean county. Pa., in 
1879 and has'since maintained a law- 
office at Bradford, in the same county. 
He was chairman of the McKean County 
Republican Committee in 1886 and 1887 
and a delegate to the Republican State 
Convention in 1888 and was first elected 
a member of the Legislature in that 
year. He was re-elected by a complimentary majority in 1890 and again in 1892. 
In the session of 1891 he introduced and had charge of the famous Burdick bill 
regulating oil pipe lines, limiting the powers of such carrying companies and fix- 
ing maximum charges for their services. In the session of 1893 he introduced 
several important measures and was appointed chairman of the Committee on Cor- 
porations. He was also an active member of the General Judiciary and Appropri- 
ations Committees, being assigned the chairmanship of one of the most important 
sub-committee of the last named general committee. He was also a member of 
the Committees on Ways and Means and Federal Relations. Mr. Burdick is a 
ready debater and has taken an active part on the floor of the House in discussing 
legal and economic questions which have been made subjects for legislation. 
He has been a popular and influential member through three sessions, being known 
as a conscientious and energetic worker. In addition to his law business he has 
important business interests at home and is thoroughly identified with the pros- 
perous progress of his county. 




>^ 



218 



House of Representatives. 




HERMAN H. NORTH is one ol 
the well-known attornej's of Mc- 
Kean county, who has gained for 
himself au enviable reputation. He was 
l)orn in Patterson, Juniata county, Pa., 
1852, and is the son of Hon. James 
North, who continues to reside in Juni- 
ata county. The subject of this sketch 
was given a liberal education, having 
successfully attended Airy View Acad- 
emy, at Port Royal, Pa., and Chambers- 
burg Academy, at Chambersburg, Pa., 
from which latter institution he entered 
the College ot New Jersey, at Princeton, 
graduating in 1873. Subsequently he 
entered the Albany Law School, Albany, 
New York, and after a full course, gradu- 
ated in 1875. 

lu 1875 Mr. North located at Indian- 
apolis, Ind., entering the office of Mc- 
Donald & Butler, one of ''the foremost 
law firms of that state, the senior member of the firm, Hon. Joseph E. McDonald, 
being at the time United States Senator. Owing to the climate, Mr. North was 
unable to remain in Indianapolis, and returned the following year to Pennsyl- 
vania. For a number of j'ears his health was so poor that he was incapacitated 
for office business, and in 1880 removed to Bradford, McKean county, where he 
became extensively engaged in the oil iudustrj^ and in the course of three or four 
years regained his health and commenced the practice of his profession. He has 
been identified with many of the most prominent litigations in the county and 
enjoys the confidence of all who know him. 

Mr. North has always taken considerable interest in politics, having served as 
committeeman in his native county of Juniata; also as a member of the Republi- 
can State committee in 1878, and for a number of years as a member and secretary 
of the City Republican committee of Bradford. He was elected chairman of the 
Republican county committee of McKean county in 1890 and 1891, and managed 
the campaigns of those years in a highly satisfactory manner. At the meeting of 
the Republican county convention of McKean county in July, 1892, Mr. North 
was unanimously chosen one of the candidates ot his party for memlier of Assem- 
bly and was elected the following November by a handsome majority. In 1891 
Mr. North was elected city solicitor of the city of Bradford, and served as such until 
January, 1893, when he resigned to assume the office of Representative in the State 
Legislature. 

During the session of the Legislature of 1893 Mr. North took an active and 
prominent part in the most interesting discussions before the House. He is a man 
of positive convictions, and, although having expressed himself to a degree of de- 
fiance, he neither merited nor received the ill-will of any one of his fellow mem- 
bers, but on the contrary won for himself their friendship and esteem. 



House of Representatives. 



219 




VV three 



AM H. MILLER, one of the 



Mercer county in the House, was born 
October 29, 1846, near Newburg, Orange 
county. New York, on a farm along the 
Hudson river. In 1856 he made his 
home in Honesdale, Wayne county, Pa., 
and remained there until 1869, when 
lie removed to Sharon, Mercer county. 
After passing a short time at Youngs- 
town, Ohio, he located at Greenville, 
his present home. In 1872, after re- 
turning to Mercer county, he married 
the oldest daughter of William Laird, 
the founder of the opera house at Green- 
ville. Mr. Miller's father was a de- 
scendant of the Huguenots, and settled 
in Connecticut, and his grandfather 
fought in the revolutionary war. His 
mother, whose maiden name was Alice 
McCormick, was born in Ireland. Mr. 
Miller was educated in common and private schools and taught one term at Cas- 
tor school house in Crawford county. He is a horse shoer by trade and carries 
on the business at his home. He does only light shoeing, for which he has a 
reputation excelled by none. He is prominently connected with workingmen's 
organizations. The esteem in which he is held by labor associations materially 
contributed to the large majority by which he was elected a member of the House, 
having received the next highest vote on the Eepublican ticket and having run 
ahead of President Harrison. In the town of Greenville, his home, he was given 
the largest vote ever polled for a candidate for oflBLce. He has been a devoted sup- 
porter of the principles of the Republican party and has defended it on the plat- 
form, and in the press and in debates, and has gained considerable prominence as 
a debater on the taritf question. He is a firm believer in high protection, in ex- 
cluding all foreign productions the like of which can be produced in this countrj-, 
and admitting free only those which we can not pn duce. He has figured con- 
spicuously in the local politics of his county. Mr. JNIiller has been a regular at- 
tendant on the sessions of the House and has made a useful and popular member 
of it. He served on the Committees of Labor and Industry, Elections, Constitu- 
tional Reform, Accounts and Library, and was a member of the sub-committee 
which inquired into the contested election case originated by Mr. Okell, of Scran- 
ton, to oust Representative Qninnan. 






220 



House of Representatives, 




W 



ILLIAM F. REED, oue of the Rep- 
resentatives from Mercer county, 
was born in Coolspring township, in 
that county, October 10, 1849. He re- 
ceived a common school education in 
the public schools of that county. He 
also attended the academy at New Leb- 
anon, Pa. He is engaged in farming 
and dealing in stock and has been very 
successful in both. As a Republican he 
has always been a faithful and tireless 
worker for the cause of the party. He 
was a delegate to the State Republican 
Convention which met in Harrisburg in 
1885. He has frequently been a dele- 
gate to county Republican conventions. 
Mr. Reed was elected a member of the 
House of Representatives in 1892 and is 
serving his first term. He is a member 
i>f the Committees on Ways and Means, 
Insurance, Banks, Centennial Affairs and 
Agriculture. He takes a keen interest in the affairs of the House and is rarely 
out of his seat. He is a good talker and never fails to cast his vote for the bills in 
which his constituents are directly interested. Mr. Reed occupies a seat on the 
minority side of the hall of the House by the side of his colleague. He was mar- 
ried in 1871 and has five children. 



#^^v 




House of Representatives. 



221 




ISAAC H. ROBB, of Mercer county, 
A was boru in Mill Creek, Mercer 
county, Pa., and was educated in the 
public schools and at the New Lebanon 
Academy, which institution he attended 
lor four years. He taught school with 
much success for several years and then 
Ijegan the study of the law with Grif- 
tith & Mason. He was admitted to the 
bar of Mercer county on October 23, 
1873, and has since been engaged in the 
practice of his profession at Sandy I^ake, 
Pa. He has been twice elected burgess 
ot Sandy Lake and has .served two 
terms as school director and two terms 
as councilman. 

Mr. Robb takes an active interest in 
politics and in recognition of his party 
service he was nominated by the Rei^ub- 
licans of his county in 1892 for the Leg- 
islature and elected by a large ma- 
jority. He is a member of the Committees on Judiciary Local, Counties and 
Townships, Iron and Coal and Congressional Apportionment. Among the most 
important bills introduced by Mr. Robb was one which empowers courts of com- 
mon pleas to decree a private sale in the case of an assignment for the benefit of 
creditors. The bill has already passed in the House and has gone to the Senate 
for concurrence. Mr. Robb is married and has three children. He has served re- 
peatedly as a delegate to county Republican conventions. 



222 



House of Representatives. 




JOSEPH H. McCLINTIC, of Mifflin 
J county, was born in Union township, 
that county, on June 23, 1846. His 
father, of Irish extraction, was a farmer 
and a native of this state. The subject 
of this sketcli attended the public 
schools of his native township but be- 
fore his studies had been completed 
in December, 1862, when only sixteen 
years of age. enlisted as private in the 
army and served nine months in the 
Nineteenth regular infantry, company B, 
when he was promoted to a lieutenancy 
and detached from his command, in 
which he was at the time serving, and 
transferred to a camp of instruction be- 
low Washington, D. C, for the purpose 
of giving instructions to and drilling 
the colored troops assigned to him for 
the Union armies. He remained at this 
place only four months, when he re- 
signed his position as instructor, for the purpose of entering the Eighty-seventh 
Pennsylvania volunteer infantry .service, in which command he was assigned to 
company A, and with his regiment participated in the battles of Mouocacy Junc- 
tion, Berrysville and Cedar Creek. In the latter engagement he was so seriously 
wounded, October 19, 1864, that he lost his right leg, which was amputated at the 
hip-joint. The operation was performed on the field and three days and three 
nights elapsed before he was removed to the hospital for treatment. After his re- 
covery he was placed in command of an invalid corps and served in it until his 
discharge by reason of the close of the war. After his discharge from the army he 
attended school for several terms at Baltimore, Md., and Reading, Pa., and subse- 
quently engaged in the calling of school teacher. He also followed the occupation 
of a farmer. Mr. McClintic is a Republican in politics and has filled various town- 
ship offices in Mifflin county. He takes an active part in the political contests 
of his party and has twice been returned to the House, serving in that capacity 
in the sessions of 1891 and 1893. At the latter session he was chairman of the Pen- 
sions and Gratuities committee and a member of Appropriations, Counties and 
Townships and Compare Bills committees. When not engaged with his legislative 
duties he follows the occupation of a farmer. A fact worthy of note is that Mr. 
McClintic's paternal and maternal great-grandfathers served in the armies of the 
Colonies during the revolutionary war on the American side. 



House of Representatives. 



223 




RICHARD F. SCHWARZ, represent- 
ing the county of Monroe, was 
bom near Berlin, Germany, October 31, 
1853. His father, Frederick Schwarz, 
■who, after a limited education, started 
in life as a commercial traveler had, 
before his marriage, founded a wall- 
paper factory and became one the largest 
manufacturers in his line in Germany. 
The government, recognizing his ability 
in commercial pursuits, created him in 
1872 a "counselor of commerce," a 
position of high honor in that land. 
Representative Schwarz received a thor- 
ough education in the Ducal primary 
and high schools at Dessau Germany, 
and was lifted for commercial life in 
the Ducal College,' located at the same 
place. His father, thoroughly believing 
in the educational effect of travel, yearly 
took his son on trips to various parts ot 
Europe. While the eldest son entered and finally took entire charge of the great 
business built up by the father, the younger son, Richard F. Schwarz, came to 
New York early in 1871, traveled commercially over the greater part of the States. 
Tiring of this, became book-keeper of a great Chicago firm, but was finally forced 
by ill health to give up city and traveling life. It was then, in 1875. that he settled 
in Moui'oe county, and on a modest scale started market gardening and fruit 
growing, a business which he has since successfully' developed. Since his natura- 
lization he has been active in politics as an ardent Democrat, represented his 
township in the county committee for a number of years, and his county on the 
State Central Committee for three years, and as a delegate in several of the state 
conventions. He was a member of the State Committee under Mr. Hensel which 
conducted the first election of Governor Pattison. He has successively held the 
office of school director, auditor and justice of the peace, the latter of which he 
held at the time of his election to the Legislature. After a hard-fought battle for 
the nomination he was elected to the House by a majority of 1,702, his Republi- 
can opponent being one of the most popular young lawj'ers of the county. ]\Ir. 
Schwarz was appointed on the Committees on Geological Survey, Pension and 
Gratuities, Fish and Game and Counties and Townships. In the latter commit- 
tee he took so prominent a part in the discussion of new road legislation that he 
was appointed by the chairman of the agricultural delegation one of six House 
members on a joint committee of House and Senate to formulate a general road 
law. 



224 



House of Representatives. 




FRANKLIN A. COMLY was a son of 
the late Samuel Willett Comly and 
nephew and namesake of the late 
Franklin A. Comlj% president of the 
North Peunsj'lvauia railroad from 18.17 
until his death, in 1887. His father 
was in the milling business at the old 
Spruce mill, on the Wissahiekon creek, 
below Thorp's lane, Chestnut Hill. In 
1850 he moved to the mill in "White 
Marsh, where Franklin A. Comly was 
born February 17, 1856. He acquired 
his schooling in the district until he 
went to Swarthmore College, Delaware 
county,in 1 872. After serving two terms 
he entered the Friends' Central school, 
Fifteenth and Race streets, and then 
took a business course at Bryant &Staf- 
fon's. Tenth and Chestnut streets, 
Philadelphia, after which he became 
connected with the Bound Brook rail- 
road iu the freight depot, when the road opened in 1876, at Second and Berks 
.streets. In 1878 he received the contract to deliver all the New York freight of 
the Bound Brooke railroad in Philadelphia. After two years he connected himself 
with the Produce Commission business on South Water street, Philadelphia. In 
May, 1884, his father died, and he took charge of the farm until, in 1890. the 
Pennsylvania railroad bought the farm, as the New Trenton Cut-off railroad runs 
through it. Mr. Comly was born in White Marsh township, and lived in the same 
district when elected to the Legislature in November, 1892. Montgomery county 
was exceptionally close, three candidates being elected by less than ten votes, one 
of them (the sherift') only having one majority in a vote of over 28,000. Mr. Comly 
took great interest in the Norristown Insane Asylum appropriation and the Boyer 
bill relating to fraternal societies. He is a Republican and does not take much 
stock in reformers or independents. 



House of Representatives. 



225 




J' 



'OHN BEANS GOENTNER was born 
in Lancaster county June 27, 1847, 
his parents soon after returning to the 
old homestead farm near Hatboro, Mont- 
gomery county, wliere his ancestors 
have lived over one hundred years and 
where his mother still resides. He was 
brought up on the farm, educated at the 
public schools and in old Loller Acad- 
emy. From the age of fifteen to twen- 
ty-two he worked on his father's farm. 
He then taught school successfully in 
Chettenham, Horsham and White Marsh 
townships for several years. He has 
always been actively interested in the 
advancement of literature. While teach- 
ing he organized a successful lyceum in 
each of the schools. In 1878 he mar- 
ried, purchased and moved to " Willow- 
brook," a farm in Abington township, 
where he still resides. He has always 
iaken an active part in politics, being a delegate to a countj- convention before he 
cast his lirst vote. He was delegate to the State Republican League at Scranton 
in 1891 and alternate from the Seventh congressional district to the National Re- 
publican League Convention at Buffalo, N. Y., in September, 1892. He was 
school director and justice of the peace a number of years, which latter position 
he resigned on his election to the Legislature. He was candidate for Legislature 
in 1890, receiving 227 of the 241 votes in the nominating convention, and although 
over one thousand votes ahead of his party candidate for Governor, was defeated 
hy eight votes, receiving 12,541 votes to 12,549 for his opponent. In 1892 he was 
re-nominated and elected, receiving the highest vote on the legislative ticket. He 
has been in his seat at every session. He is secretary of the Committee on Geo- 
logical Survey and an active member on the Committees on Education, Health and 
Sanitation and Fish and Game, and carefully watched the interests of his constitu- 
ents on the Legislative and Congressional Apportionment Committees. He intro- 
duced a bill to form a 'new Normal school district so as to provide a school for 
Montgomery county at Souderton ; also a bill on road legislation ; one to increase 
powers of justices of the peace; one to provide for an additional officer in the Ag- 
ricultural Department to be known as Dairy and Food Commissioner. He is in- 
terested actively in the passage of the following bills : To purchase Valley Forge 
as a National park; to place control of hospitals for insane receiving State aid 
under control of trustees; providing female physicians for female patients; one for 
the aid of secret societies. While teaching he spent part of his vacation travel- 
ing through the western states and territories and came back and settled in 
Montgomery county which he says is the " garden of the world," and his own 
■district the flower bed of the ijarden. 



15 



226 



House of Representatives. 





^msm 


1 


1 


''"^H 


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pf«iS 




1 Wi 



BWITMAN DAMBLY was born 
• in the village of Skippack, Mont" 
gomery county, [Pa., August 26, 1864. 
His education was received in the pub- 
lic schools of that village, which he at- 
tended until his fourteenth year, when 
he entered the printing office of his 
father, the late A. E. Dambly, who 
published the German Der Nenlralisf, 
one of the oldest German weeklies in 
the state. In 1885 Mr. Dambly's father 
died, when he undertook the manage- 
ment of the business and assumed edi- 
torial control of the paper. In 1888 the 
estate, in the name of which the busi- 
ness was continued and still is, started 
an English weekly paper in connection 
with the German and named it The 
3Iontgomery Transcript. Mr. Dambly 
also assumed the editorial management 
of this paper, which, although less than 
five years old, is one of the most successful- weeklies in that county of many pa- 
pers, there being upwards of forty. Both papers have large and influential circu- 
lations and are stalwart Republican. Der Neutralist is the German Republican or- 
gan of the county. 

Mr. Dambly served as secretary of the Republican county committee of Mont- 
gomery county from 1889 to 1892. He was a member of the Republican Executive 
committee for three years and its secretary in 1891. In 1889 he was elected dele- 
gate to the Republican state convention at Harrisburg. He has been serving as 
school director of his township since 1891. He is a director of the Perkiomen Val- 
ley Building and Loan Association of Collegeville and president of the Skippack 
Society for the Recovery of Stolen Horses. Since 1887 he has been superintendent 
of the Sunday School of his native village. 

At the Republican county convention of his county in the fall of 1892 there 
were twelve candidates for the Assembly. Mr. Dambly was one of the five named 
on the first ballot for that ofiice, his vote being third highest. At the November 
election he was elected by eight majority. Mr. Dambly is unmarried. 

During the session of the Legislature'Mr. Dambly served on the following com- 
mittees: Banks, Centennial Affairs, Geological Survey, Printing, Public Health 
and Sanitation. His part in legislation consisted in the introduction of the follow- 
ing bills: " To amend section sixth of the act extending the power of the several 
courts of the commonwealth to appoint election officers in certain cases;" "to 
provide for the discharge from any hospital for the insane of insane persons charged 
with and acquitted of crime; " "to continue the state weather service in this com- 
monwealth for the purpose of increasing the efficiency of the United States signal 
service and making an appropriation of $8,000." Mr. Dambly is in possession of 
his familj' history, which dates from the year 1112. The first known member of 
the family was Gibon of Ambly, who was a resident of the province of Champagne, 
where he owned large estates. Representative Dambly is the third youngest mem- 
ber of the House. 



House of Representatives. 



227 



pEORGE C. HOLLENBACH was 
vJ born November 7, 1849, in Potts- 
grove township, Montgomery county, 
Pa. His father died about six months 
afterward. He worked on a farm and 
attended the public school until the age 
of thirteen, after which he began boat- 
ing on the canal, which he followed for 
six years, when he entered the employ 
of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail- 
road Company as lineman until the age 
of twenty-four. For two years he fol- 
lowed huckstering and then began farm- 
ing. In 1876 he entered the mercantile, 
together with the Agricultural Imple- 
ment and real estate business, farming 
and fruit raising at Sanatoga, Pa., in 
which he is still engaged. He had been 
postmaster at Sanatoga, Pa., for the past 
seventeen years, which position he re- 
signed on December 31, 1892. He is a 
director in the Citizens' National Bank of Pottstown, Pa., and of the American 
Protective Association of Reading, Pa. He is at present auditor of the township 
in which he lives and also a member of the Royal Arcanum and the Odd Fellows 
Lodge. He is a member of the Immanuel Luthern church of Pottstown, Pa., and 
has been a constant member of the Sanatoga Union Sunday school for the past 
seventeen years. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1892. He 
was married in 1872, and has two sons, who are engaged in business with him. 

He is a member of the Committee on Agriculture, Banks, Counties and Town- 
ships, Fish and Game and Labor and Industry, in all of which he took an active 
part. He also displaced much interest in the revision of the road laws. He 
introduced bills for the extinguishment of dower laws, and to make an appropria- 
tion to the Pottstown hospital. 




228 



House of Representatives. 




AUSTIN L. TAGGART, better known 
tliroughout Pennsylvania as "Far- 
mer" Taggart, was born in Tamaqua, 
Schuylkill county, November 21, 1836, 
and is now in the full vigor of a hearty 
manhood. His father was a merchant 
and lumber dealer, and back of him is 
a long line of ancestors who came to 
Pennsylvania in 1740 and helped to 
make up the sturdy land of early set- 
tlers who believed in independence of 
thought and action. Mr. Taggart's 
great-grandfather was a revolutionary 
soldier and was killed in battle. In 
1850 Mr. Taggart's father moved to 
Montgomery county, when the young 
man was educated at public and private 
schools. At an early age he began work 
as a surveyor, and ran the lines and 
made the maps for a number of counties 
in Michigan, at the time a growing 
territory. Returning to Norristown he 
engaged in the mercantile business, and leaving that began farming on a tract of 
land three miles from Valley Forge. He is one of the best-known farmers in the 
country because he has always cared for the interests of the farmer. He declined 
all offices except that of assessor, until 1886 when the Republicans insisted on 
naming him for the Legislature. This nomination he accepted with reluctance, 
but after his election he entered upon his legislative duties heartily and earnestly. 
He was re-elected in 1888, 1890 and 1892, and in that time had charge of the im- 
portant Granger tax bills prepared and endorsed by the State Grange Patrons of 
Husbandry, for which he made a gallant fight. He was on many important com- 
mittees, chairman of some because of his recognized ability in certain directions, 
and is now serving on the Committees on Railroads, Public Buildings, Accounts. 
Mr. Taggart was a member of the Twentieth Pennsylvania cavalry regiment dur- 
ing the war, serving in the emergency attendant iipon Lee's raid, and doing duty 
along the Potomac river. He has been a member of the Grange since 1874, serving 
as master and overseer, and is a member of the legislative committee of the State 
Grange. Personally Mr. Taggart is a most companionable gentleman, and is fully 
worthy of the popular esteem in which be is held. He is a deep thinker, does not 
act on impulse, but when he has made up his mind concerning the just position to 
take, he adheres to it no matter what the opposition. On the floor of the House he 
says what he has to say tersely and ably, and in argument is convincing. Mr. 



old farm. 



House of Representatives. 



229 




pHARLES I. BAKER, of Montgom- 
^-^ ery, was born in Narriton townshipi 
October 3, 1852, and is a member of one 
of the oldest and best known families in 
Eastern Pennsylvania. He was edu- 
cated in the township schools and at the 
Tremont Seminary, Norristown. Alter 
working on a farm and serving an ap- 
prenticeship at the carpentering trade 
he entered the mercantile business, in 
which he is still engaged, with a nat- 
ural inclination for politics. He has 
lived in the city of Norristown since 
1870. He has for a number of years 
represented the ward in which he lives 
in the Democratic standing committee, 
and was for two terms secretary of this 
organization. He was chairman of the 
Democratic Borough Executive commit- 
tee of Norristown during 1892-3, and 
for two years has been one of the fore- 
most members of the executive committee of the Democratic societies of Pennsyl- 
vania. In 1884 he represented Montgomery county at the State Democratic con- 
vention which met at Harrlsburg, and was chairman of the delegation from that 
county. Two years subsequent he was nominated for the Legislature by the 
Democrats of Montgomer}' county, but, with the remainder of the ticket, he was 
defeated by a few votes. In the fall of 1890 he was again honored by his party 
with the nomination for the Legislature, was elected and served through the ses- 
sion of 1891. His services as a legislator brought him into prominence with the 
people and so satisfactorily were they regarded in the estimation of his constituents 
that in 1892 he was renominated. After a most vigorous contest he was the only 
Democratic candidate for the Legislature elected in that campaign from Mont- 
gomery county, his majority being twenty out of a poll of 27,104 votes, defeating 
Austin L. Taggart. 

Mr. Baker was sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives on Janu- 
ary 2, 1893. Mr. Taggart at once filed a notice of contest, alleging that fifty-nine 
students of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, a Catholic institution located at Over- 
brook, Montgomery county, had illegally cast their votes lor Mr. Baker. The 
contestant claimed that these students had no residence within the meaning of the 
law to entitle them to vote in Montgomery county. After liearing their testi- 
mony the Republican members of the House Elections committee, who consti- 
tuted a majority, reiwrted against the legality of Mr. Baker's election. The Demo- 
cratic members of the committee filed a minority report, declaring INIr. Baker's 
election legal, and maintaining the right of the theologians to vote. On April 18, 
1893, the House, by a partisan vote, adopted the majority report, thus depriving 
him of his seat, to which he claims he was legally elected by the people of his na- 
tive county. 



230 



House of Representatives. 




JOHN K. GERINGER, of Danville, 
J Montour county, was born August 2, 
1852, in the county which he has twice 
had the honor of representing in the 
House of Representatives. He was edu- 
cated in the public schools. For several 
years he was engaged in the hotel busi- 
ness until about six years ago, since 
which time he has been dealing very 
extensively in lumber. He is a Jack- 
sonian Democrat and a tireless worker 
for the cause of his party. He has 
served a number of times as delegate to 
county and State Democratic conven- 
tions. He was for a long time a mem- 
ber of council at his home and is now 
serving his second term as water com- 
missioner, a position he is qualified in 
every way to fill with credit to himself 
and his constituents. 

Mr. C4eringer was elected a member 
of the House of Representatives in 1891 and in 1892 was re-elected by the largest 
majority ever given any candidate in Montour, which is of itself abundant proof 
of his popularity and the high esteem in which he is held by the people of that 
section. He is a member of the Committees on Elections, Insurance, Judicial Ap- 
portionment and Coal and Iron. The most important bill introduced by him was 
one which provides for an appropriation of $150,000 to the Danville State Lunatic 
Hospital. The bill will undoubtedly become a law. His ancestors on his fiither's 
side were Moravians and were among the most respected residents of Northampton 
county. His mother's maiden name was Angeline Smith. Her parents resided in 
the adjoining county, Lehigh, and were well known and respected by the people 
in that locality. Mr. Geringer is married and has three children — William C, 
Laura K. and Nellie. 




House of Re2Jresentatives. 



231 




L. 



J. BROUGHAL, of Northampton 
'• county, was born January 22, 1856, 
in South Bethlehem, the Gibralter of 
Democracy of that county. He received 
his education iu the public schools of 
his native borough, was a general favor- 
ite among his class-mates, and gradu- 
ated at the early age of thirteen years. 
After he had mastered his studies he 
entered the employ of the Bethlehem 
Iron Company, and by rapid advances 
and careful attention to the duties that 
his work demanded of him was pro- 
moted in the company's employ until 
he became the boss roller in charge of 
the merchant mill rolls, which position 
he has held for many years. When 
twenty-one years of age he was elected 
assessor of his borough and he also held 
the position of borough councilman, 
which position he resigned to accept his 
election as one of the Representatives from his county in the Legislature. He 
was a delegate from his county to the Democratic State convention in 1884 and 
again in 1891. He has always taken very great interest in the campaigns of his 
party and is an active politician in the borough where he resides as well as in the 
count J' at large. The interests of his constituents are carefully guarded by Mr. 
Broughal. He is a member of the Committees on Iron and Coal, Congressional 
Apportionment and City Passenger Railways. He presented and took a keen in- 
terest in the bill for an appropriation of S10,000 to St. Luke's Hospital of South 
Bethlehem. In 1888 he was one of the organizers of the South Bethlehem National 
Bank and since that time has been a member of the board of directors of the bank. 



•fs^VGNm^l^/l^fr 



■^J'-^ 
^ 



1>32 



IJouse of Representatives. 




C, 



B. Z CLICK, of Northampton 
county, was born June 30, 1836, in 
Easton, and received a common school 
education. At the completion of his 
school days he entered the book and 
music store of his father, Anthony 
Zulick, in Easton. In 1858 he asso- 
ciated himself with his father under the 
name of A. Zulick & Son, and carried 
on the same business under the firm 
name until 1870, when the elder Zulick 
died and the subject of this sketch suc- 
ceeded to the business, which he con- 
tinued until 1876. Since that time he 
has been sales agent for anthracite and 
bituminous coal operators. Mr. Zulick 
is a Democrat and has been actively as- 
sociated in all of his party's political 
work for almost forty years, and has 
been a member of the Democratic 
County Committee for over one-half of 
this time. He has served as treasurer of the Easton City Democratic Executive 
Committee for four years. He has been a State Bank Assessor of this state for two 
years, and in 1892 he was elected one of the Representatives from Northampton 
county to the House. Mr. Zulick is one of a family of six brothers who have been 
active and successful business men. Colonel Thomas C. Zulick, the eldest brother, 
was for a number of years connected with the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Valley 
railroad before and after its connection with the Philadelphia and Reading rail- 
road, and was the general superintendent of the Canal company over which the 
shipments of coal from Schuylkill Haven (then the principal point of departure of 
coal from the Schuylkill region for the Sea Board and other points of distribution) 
was made. Another brother was the Hon. C. Meyer Zulick, atone time Governor 
of Arizona. Mr. Zulick at the session of 1893 was assigned to the Committees of 
Federal Relations, Constitutional Reform and Counties and Townships. 



House of Representalivea 



23^ 




W 



'ILLIAM HENRY WOODRING, 
of Northamptou county, was born 
December 7, 1854, in Upper Nazareth 
township of the same county. His 
father taught school for thirty-five years 
and served one term as county commis- 
sioner, from 1874 to 1877. Representa- 
tive Woodring attended the common 
schools of his county until he was four- 
teen years old, when he began clerking 
in a mercantile house, continuing until 
1874. He then took a course in East- 
man's National Business College at 
Poughkeepsie, New York, from which 
he graduated. He again connected him- 
self with the mercantile business and 
remained in it until 1878, when he en- 
tered Lafayette College at Easton, Pa. 
In 1881, afler three years' schooling in 
that institution, he read law and Avas 
admitted to the Northampton county 
bar in 1885. In 1888 lie entered the mercantile business and prosecuted it and 
stock farming since that time in connection with the practice of the law. Mr. 
Woodring was a member of the National Guard from 1874 to 1879, and partici- 
pated in the fight directed against the rioters at Reading in 1877, resulting in the 
death of a number of people. He was then a member of the Easton Grays, with 
which organization he was connected lor five years. He was elected to the first 
political oftice when the Democrats of Northampton county chose him to represent 
them in part in the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania. He served on the 
Committees of Judiciary General, Corporations, Ways and Means and Elections, 
and made himself useful on all of them. 




234 



House of Representatives. 




PETER JOSEPH CRISTE, one of the 
two Representatives from North- 
umberland county, was born at Summit, 
Cambria county, Pa., on October 11, 
1836. In the public schools he received 
the rudiments of an education, and be- 
ing of a studious turn of mind he sup- 
plemented this by a course of study and 
reading iu the seclusion of his home. 
He learned the trade of a carpenter 
while yet a boy, and in the summer he 
plied the jack-plane and in the winter 
the birch. During three terms he taught 
school and had the reputation of being an 
excellent disciplinarian. He was elected 
school director and justice of the peace 
in the borough of Loretto, in his native 
county, in the year 1860. Mr. Criste, 
with his family, moved to Northumber- 
land county and settled at the beauti- 
ful town of Milton on the Susquehanna 
iu the year 1865. Here he was elected justice of the peace and served for a third 
term. He was auditor ot his township for twelve years, and his audits were mod- 
els of neatness and accuracy. After learning the carpenter trade, and becoming 
a practical builder, he studied architecture and became as successful in that busi- 
ness as he had been in others. He has been for many years a familiar figure in 
the Democratic County conventions of Northumberland county. In 1890 he was 
elected a member of the House of Representatives by a majority of 749, a very 
creditable majority inasmuch as the county that two .years before had been swept 
into the Republican column. In 1892 he received about the same majority. In 
the session of 1893 he was placed on the Committees of Accounts, Public Health 
and Sanitation, Fish and Game, Labor and Industry, and Ways and Means. It 
was Mr. Criste who introduced iu the House the resolution creating the Game and 
Fish Committee, and had he been in political accord with the Speaker, would 
doubtless have been its chairman. He had charge of the bill for the protection of 
game in the House, conceded on all sides to be the best bill of the kind ever before 
our Legislature. 




House of Representatives. 



235 



TSAIAH JACOB RENN was born in 
1 Lower Augusta township, North- 
umberland county, on May 30, 1842. 
Like his father before him, Mr. Renn 
follows the occupation of farming. The 
uneventful life of the farmer boy has 
been his, though he belongs to a family 
of politicians, and has varied the mo- 
notony of farm life with the excitement 
of politics. He has represented his 
party in county convention, held the 
office of overseer of the poor, auditor 
and justice of the peace in his native 
township. He was holding the latter 
ofKce when the people called him up 
higher and made him their representa- 
tive. Other branches of the family 
claim they can prove their descent from 
Sir Christopher Aren, the great archi- 
tect, but Mr. Kenn cares little for pedi- 
gree, and values a man for what he 
shows himself to be. He received his 
early education in.the public schools of his native county, and has ever been quiet 
and industrious inj.his tastes. His advice in political matters is highly regarded 
by his associates. In 1890 he was elected to the House of Representatives by 769 
majority over a popular competitor. Old Northumberland, before this, had been 
very close politically, and was carried for the first time in its history in a Presi- 
dentian election by Benjamin Harrison in 1888. Through the influence of such 
conservative Democrats as Mr. Kenn the county is now safely anchored in the 
Democratic column. In 1892 Mr. Renn was again elected by about the same ma- 
jority he receivedjin 1890. At the session of 1893 he was placed on the Commit- 
teelon Agriculture, Federal Relations, Iron and Coal, and Public Buildings. He 
belongs' to what is known as the "rural combine," and in a quiet way makes 
his influence felt among his associates. 




286 



House of Repi^eseniatives. 




r 



OSEPH W. BUCK WALTER, wlio 
J represents Perry countj' in the 
House, was born in Wallace township, 
Chester county, February 22, 1850, his 
father of German and his mother of 
Scotch descent. In 1852 his family 
moved to Juniata township, Perry 
county. He obtained his education in 
the common schools of his adopted 
township and in the Bloomfield and 
Landisburg Academies. After he bad 
completed his education he taught 
school live terms in the winter and de- 
voted his time in the summer to farm- 
ing. For several years he kept a gen- 
eral store at Newport. Eleven years of 
his life were taken up as a commercial 
traveler, during which time he also 
supervised a farm which he owns in 
Miller township, Perry county, where 
he now resides. He was secretary of 
the school board in his townshii) until he was elected a member of the Legisla- 
ture, when he resigned the position. He also served as census enumerator for two 
districts in his county. He has repeatedly represented the Kepublican party in 
local conventions. His popularity was shown in the big run he made when a can- 
didate for the Legislature. Perry county is very close, politically, but he emerged 
from his contest with a majority of 362, which greatly exceeded that obtained by 
any other man on the Republican ticket. Mr. Buckwalter has not figured much 
in the discussions of the House, but he has attended to all his legislative duties 
with fidelity. He served on the following committees : Agriculture, Education, 
Elections, Fish and Game and Railroads. 






House of Representatives. 



23' 




I- 



JOHN A. KIPP was born in Greene 
township. Pike county, Pa., on the 
22d day of February, A. D., 1849. He 
is the fifth son of a family of twelve 
children, attended a common school 
of his neighborhood up to the age of 
fourteen and worked on a farm and lum- 
ber woods for his father until he became 
twenty-one years of age. After arriving 
at his majority, he started out in pur- 
suit of an education by earning his own 
way as the opportunity offered. At the 
age of twenty-two he entered the State 
Normal school at Mansfield, Tioga 
county. Pa., where he continued during 
the winter term for three successive 
years, then changing to the State Nor- 
mal school at Millersville, Lancaster 
county, where he spent three terms of 
school. He then began the profession of 
teaching, taught at Sylvania, Tioga 
county, at Mountain House, Monroe 
<;ounty, at Kipptown and Sugarhill, where he first attended school in Pike county, 
and at Newfoundland, Wayne county. Pa. He was married to Adelia C. Wolfe, 
of South Sterling, Wayne county. Pa., in 1875. He was elected county superin- 
tendent of the schools of Pike county in May, 1878, and was re-elected to that po- 
sition four times and served until November 30, 1892, when he resigned to take his 
.seat in the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, to which position he had been 
elected in November, 1892. He entered the study of law at the age of thirty-six 
vears in the office of Hon. D. M. Van Auken at Milford, Pa., and was admitted to 
practice in his native county at the age of forty. Has twice filled the office of chief 
burgess of Milford borough, twice served as Democratic chairman of his county 
and served on the following committees in the House of Representatives : Judi- 
■ciary General, Public Buildings, Legislative Apportionment. Mr. Kipp took an 
active interest in the game and fish bill before the House. 




238 



House of Represehtatives. 




(y 



|WEN G. METZGER, Representa- 
tive from Potter county, was born 
in Hebron township, Potter county, 
February 22, 1853. At an early age he 
removed to Coudersport, Pa., where he 
now resides. He was graduated in the 
graded schools of that borough, after 
which he embarked in the lumbering 
business in a modest way. In 1880 he 
formed a co-partnership with James 
"White, under the firm name of White & 
Metzger, manufacturers of hardwood 
lumber, at West Branch, remaining in 
that town about four years when they 
removed to Galeton and finally, in 1892, 
made their headquarters at Coudersport, 
Pa., where they are conducting a suc- 
cessful wholesale hardwood lumber 
business. Mr. Metzger is one of the 
most prominent business men of Potter 
county and his success is due entirely 
to his strict integrity, honest dealings, perseverance and attention to and knowl- 
edge of the details of his business. In July, 1892, in company with a party of 
seven prominent men of Potter county, a tract, embracing thirty thousand acres, 
was ])urchased and active work is being done toward clearing and settling the 
land. In 1890 Mr. Metzger was iinanimously nominated for a Representative, 
and although the county gives a uniform Republican majority of six hundred he 
was defeated by only twenty majority. In 1892 he was again unanimously nom- 
inated and elected by a majority of one hundred and one while President Harri- 
son had about 700 majority over Cleveland. On December 24, 1874, Mr. Metzger 
was married to Miss Phoebe R. Magee, of Coudersport, and four children, two boys 
and two girls, have blessed the union. Mr. Metzger was a member of the Committees 
on City Passenger Railways and on Labor and Industry and to Compare Bills in 
the Legislature of 1893. He was also one of the two Democrats on the special 
Committee on Elections, selected to investigate the Higby-Andrews contest, and 
signed the minority report, which declared Mr. Higby entitled to the seat given to 
Mr. Andrews. He introduced bills for the repeal of the prohibitory liquor law in 
Potter county, in response to the demands of a majority of the voters of that 
county, and also bills to repeal the act prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors 
in Coudersport and to remove the tax on cattle. His anti-prohibition bills were 
negatived in committee, and he made an effort to have the one applying to Potter 
county placed on the calendar, but owing to the drawing of party lines he was un- 
able to accomplish his purpose. 



House of Represerdaiives. 



289 




JOHN J. COYLE was born at M\\\ 
J Creek, Norwegian towuship, Schuyl- 
kill county, on the lOth day of Novem- 
ber, 1863. His father was a miner, 
in the coal mines of that region, and 
John, like all other boys raised in the 
anthracite coal regions, commenced his 
career as a slate picker in the coal 
breaker. When there was an opportu- 
nity he went to the public schools, and 
l)eing of a bright mind, made rapid 
progress as a boy, .so that at the age of 
iifteen years he was granted a certificate, 
and at sixteen commenced to teach in 
the public schools of Mahanoy towuship. 
After having taught there for four years 
he went to Luzerne county and became 
a teacher in one of the schools in Foster 
township, a few miles northeast of 
Hazleton, where he served for three 
years. Keturning again to Mahauoy 
City, in Schuylkill county, he started in the insurance business and had not long 
been in it when he was appointed by Governor Beaver a justice of the peace of the 
First ward. The following year he was elected to the same office after a bitter 
contest, by a majority of 23, notwithstanding the fact that the ward usually gave 
a Democratic majority of more than 150. Mr. Coyle has always been an active 
Republican in Schuylkill county and regarded as one of its leaders, his voice being 
heard in every council that had for its object the good of his party. He was nomi- 
nated by the Republicans of his Senatorial district in 1891 as a delegate to the pro- 
posed Constitutional Convention, and was elected, but the holding of the conven- 
tion was defeated by the voice of the people. Mr. Coyle is very popular with his 
people, having been elected to the Legi.slature by a majority of 204 votes in a dis- 
trict that gave Cleveland, the Democratic nominee for President, a majority of 7.")!, 
and besides Mr. Coyle had running against him an Independent Republican candi- 
date, who got 457 votes in the same district. He presented in the House the reso- 
lution asking for the appointment of live members of the House and three of the 
Senate, whose duties it will be to discover, if possible, the cause of the many ac- 
cidents occurring in the coal mines of the commonwealth and report to the next 
Legislature what they think Avould be sufficient to remedy it. He is also the author 
of the judge's salary bill, and a bill appropriating money out of the state funds 
for the payment of borough and township school superintendents. JSIr. Coyle is 
serving on the following committees, viz : Insurance, Elections, Coal and Iron, 
City Passenger Railway and Municipal Corporations. He is the secretary of the 
latter committee, an honor which is rarely conferred on a new member. 



240 



House of Eepresentatives. 




J" 



rOHN X. DENCE is the son of a miller 
and carpenter, and was born in 
Muncy, Lycoming county, on May 12, 
1857. He descended on his mother's 
side from the Lawrences, who were of 
revolutionary stock and who founded 
the town of Milton, on the West Branch 
of the Susquehanna, in 1710. When 
quite young the jiarents of Mr. Dence 
moved from Muncy, Lycoming county, 
to Ashlaind, Schuylkill county, and 
when their son John attained the proper 
age he attended the public schools. 
Alter spending a short time in them he 
was sent to the coal breaker to pick 
slate, and for a few years worked in and 
about the mines at Ashland. He subse- 
quently attended the parochial schools 
to further advance his education, and 
from there entered St. Vincent's College 
at Latrobe, after which he went to 
Mount St. Mary's at Emmittsburg, Md., where he finished his education. When 
he returned from college he became assistant agent and telegraph operator for the 
Lehigh Valley railroad at Girardville, a position which he held until he was 
elected clerk at the State hospital, where he remained four years. He then started 
in the leather business and subsequently in the manufacture of boots and shoes, 
being a partner in a factory. Mr. Dence was always fond of athletic sports, par- 
ticularly base ball, and was a fine player himself, and for a couple of seasons was 
a member of the Ashland base ball team when it belonged to the State league. 
He was always a Democrat, and though taking a very prominent part in the poli- 
tics of his neighborhood at all times, never held office until elected to the Legisla- 
ture, and although his district is considered a close one, having been carried several 
times by Eepublicans, Mr. Deuce's majority was a very large one. He was a dele- 
gate to the State convention at Scranton, which nominated Robert E. Pattison for 
Governor. Mr. Dence is serving on the following committees : Fish and Game, 
Retrenchment and Reform, Accounts and Compare Bills. He presented only one 
bill, and that was for an appropriation for the Ashland hospital. 



House of Representatives. 



241 




W 



ARKEN T. FOLLWEILER was 
born at Tamaqua, Schuylkill 
county, November 11, 1864, and is the 
youngest member sitting in the House 
of Kepresentatives. His ancestors fig- 
ured prominently in the war of the 
revolution. It was a relative of Mr. 
Follweiler Avho hauled the Liberty Bell 
from Philadelphia to Allentown in 1777, 
and part of the vehicle that carried the 
bell at that time is still in the posses- 
sion of the Follweiler family. The 
subject of the present sketch was edu- 
cated in the public schools in the bor- 
ough of Tamaqua, and when but a lad 
was appointed messenger for the West- 
ern Union Telegra])h Company. He 
soon became an operator and went to 
New York city with the Western Union, 
on Broadway, where he gained the dis- 
tinction of being the youngest telegraph 
ojjerator in their employ in the city. After leaving the Broadway office he was 
employed by the Philadelphia Press bureau in New York, and from there went to 
Philadelphia office and worked for the Press until 1887. In 1888 he went to 
Texas, but was not long there when the yellow fever broke out in Florida, when 
he went to Jacksonville to take a position on the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key 
West railroad. After serving therefor some time he returned to his native home, 
where he was employed in the trainmaster's office. He was elected for two terms 
on the advisory board of the Philadeliihia and Reading Railroad Relief Associa- 
tion. He was also elected one of the borough auditors, which office he held until 
elected to the present session of the Legislature, receiving then the largest ma- 
jority ever given to any candidate in the district. He is serving on the follow- 
ing committees of the House: Bureau of Statistics, Iron and Coal, and Centennial 
Aftairs. 



16 



242 



House cf Representatives. 




GEORGE WASHINGTON KEN- 
NEDY was born in Philadelphia, 
February 22, 1844. His birth occurring 
on Washington's birthday he was named 
for the father of his country. Mr. Ken- 
nedy's parents came from Ireland, where 
his lather learned the business of manu- 
facturing linen, but when he came here 
engaged in the manufacturing business, 
which he carried on the many years 
while located in Philadelphia. He is 
now living a retired life with his 
daughter near Wilmington, Ohio, hav- 
ing attained the ripe old age of ninety 
years. 

Young George was sent to the public 
schools in Philadelphia, but when the 
war of the rebellion broke out he 
evinced a desire to go out and battle for 
the Union. Not being of age he was 
for a time hindered in this direction. 
Before reaching his eighteenth year he 
enlisted in company G, Third Pennsylvania reserves, and soon after being mus- 
tered into the service participated in the battle of Antietam. At the second battle 
of Fredericksburg he was wounded in the left leg and was discharged from the 
army in April, 1863, on account of the wound. In July, 1863, he enlisted again 
in the Second Coal regiment and served the term for which the regiment was re- 
cruited. In December of the same year he re-enlisted as a private in company E, 
One hundred and eighty-seventh regiment Pennsylvania volunteers, and took part 
in every battle engaged in by this regiment. He was promoted to corporal and 
then first sergeant of his company, and subsequently became the hospital steward 
of his regiment, which position he held when his regiment was mustered out after 
the close of the war. On his return from the army he went to Pottsville, Schuyl- 
kill county, Avhere he accepted a position in a drug store, having prior to his en- 
listment in the army served three years as apprentice. Spending some time there 
he went to Philadelphia and entered the College of Pharmacy, from which he 
graduated in 1869, and located in Pottsville, where he is now doing business for 
himself. He served as president of the Alumina Association of the Philadelphia 
College of Pharmacy in 1876. He was the first vice president of the State Phar- 
maceutical Society and afterwards became its president for a term. For eighteen 
consecutive years he has served as secretary of the Council of the American Phar- 
maceutical Association, and has written more than sixty papers pertaining to 
pharmacy and chemistry. He has been a member of the Pottsville borough school 
board since 1876, and for six j'ears Avas the secretary of the board. In the same 
borough he is the president of the Beneficial Society, manager of the Children's 
Home and also treasurer of the Atheneum. Mr. Kennedy is serving his second 
term in the House as a Kepresentative from Schuylkill county. He served on the 
following committees: Militarj', Judiciary Local, Public Health and Sanitation, 
Library and Federal Relations. He introduced bills relative to the uniformity of 
proxies, the pharmacy and medical bills, giving the right to county auditors to 
employ counsel in extraordinary cases, extending the law in regard to the aba7i- 
donment of canals and an appropriation to the Children's Home of Pottsville. 



House of Rejiresentatives. 



24? 




SAMUEL ALFRED LOSCH, of 
Schuylkill, was born December 19, 
1842, at Uniontowu, Dauphin county. 
The paternal line came from England, 
where the great-great-grandfather was 
associated with Stephens, the inventor 
of the tramway. Jacob Losch, his son, 
came to America, and, prior to the revo- 
lution, was engaged in the manufacture 
of gunpowder at Germantown. His 
works were destroyed, involving his 
financial ruin as a result of the war. 
IVIr. Losch's father was a miller. When 
the Mexican war began he started with 
an independent company for Vera Cruz. 
The ship foundered on the voyage and 
all were lost. The mother of Mr. Losch 
was a daughter of Dr. Frederick Gess- 
ner, of Hanover, Germany, who, after 
serving as surgeon in the German army, 
came to America, settled for a time at 
Bethlehem, then moved to Gratz, Dauphin county, where he was soon engaged in 
an extensive practice, wliich he continued until his death. 

Mr. Losch was educated in the public schools. When the civil war broke out 
he joined company C, Fiftieth regiment Pennsylvania volunteers, as a pri- 
vate. The annals of the war glisten with the recital of valor performed by 
this regiment. They served successfully in South Carolina under General I. I. 
Stevens, in the Army of the Potomac under Generals McClellan, Pope and Burn- 
side, under General Grant at Vicksburg and Jackson, and formed part of the be- 
sieged at the memorable siege of Knoxville, finally joining Grant in the Army of 
the Potomac and participating in the terrific contests that culminated in the sur- 
render at Appomatox. Throughout these campaigns Mr. Losch proved himself 
a gallant .soldier, and for distinguished bravery was promoted from time to time 
as vacancies occurred. Until the close of the war he was fir.st lieutenant of his 
company, which was finally mustered out July 30, 1865. After the close of the war 
Mr. Losch was commissioned to serve on the staff of Major General J. K. Seigfried, 
with the rank of major in the National Guard of Pennsylvania. He was elected 
a member of the Legislature in 1874 and served in the sessions of '75 and '76. He 
was chief clerk of the State department under Governors Hartranft and Hoyt. In 
September, 1884, he was appointed secretary of New Mexico by President Arthur, 
which position lie filled with credit to himself and the nation until 1885, when he 
was removed by President Cleveland. Mr. Losch was elected chief clerk of the 
House of Representatives in 1887. He has been a delegate to almost every State 
Republican convention from Schuylkill county since 1871. In 1880 he was a dele- 
gate to the National Republican convention, being one of the memorable 306, who 
voted for General Grant's nomination for the Presidency. He is an active mem- 
ber of the Grand Army of the Republic since its organization, and was elected 
senior vice commander. Department of Pennsylvania, in 1876. On July 4, 1865, 
when the corner-stone of the soldiers' monument at Gettysburg was laid, the Fif- 
tieth Pennsylvania regiment was selected by General Grant to represent the 
armies of the United States. In recognition of his services, Mr. Losch was se- 
lected to command the color company of the regiment on that occasion. In 1875 
Mr. Losch introduced a compulsory arbitration bill in the Hou.se of Repre.senta- 
tives, which was the tirst bill of tliis character introduced in any Legislature in 
America, and another arbitration bill introduced by him has passed both houses. 



2U 



House of Representatives. 



SAMUEL SANDS COOPER, one of 
the Kepublican Representatives 
from Schuylkill county, was born in 
Pottsville August 22, 1854. His Mher 
was a coal miner, and the son has ap- 
plied himself to the same occupation, 
working about the mines when he was 
but eight years old and continuing in 
the business meanwhile. His educa- 
tional opportunities were not of the 
best, but he made good use of those 
afforded him in the schools of Schuylkill 
county. He has for many years taken 
an active part in politics and was a dele- 
gate to the Greenback-Republican Con- 
ventions of Schuylkill county from 1877 
to 1888, a combination formed to defeat 
the Democratic local candidates, includ- 
ing that party's nominee lor Congress. 
This union of Greeubackers and Repub- 
licans has frequently resulted in the 
election of the Greenback and Republican local candidates and member of (Jongress. 
Mr. Cooper has always worked for the welfire of the laboring man and has held vari- 
ous positions of trust in labor organizations. He took a prominent part in the 
strikes of 1869 and 1875 and was sent as a delegate in 1888 by the Knights of 
Labor to New York State to solicit aid to push the labor grievance to a successful 
termination. He was elected to the House in 1890, and so well and satisfactorily 
were his duties performed at the session which followed that his party renomi- 
nated and elected him in 1892. Mr. Cooper is a very industrious legislator and 
when necessary intelligently discusses public subjects with which he is familiar. 
His devotion to the interests of the workingman was recognized by Speaker 
Thompson in his appointment as chairman of the Committee on Mines and Mining. 
He was also placed on the Committees on Labor and Industry, Constitutional Re- 
form, Bureau of Statistics and Public Buildings. He was the author of the eight- 
hour bill introduced in the House, applying to men employed in and about coal 
mines, and had the satisfaction of seeing it pass that body by the large majority 
of 132 yeas to 32 nays. Mr. Cooper is a descendant of the Sands family, which can 
be traced back in English history for seven or eight centuries and which had a re- 
markably interesting history. 




»^4^ 



House of Representatives. 



245 



lift 




EDWARD WILLIAM TOOL first saw 
the light of day on Staten Island, 
yl^^HHMjl^^ June 28, 1851. He attended the common 

jJHHHH^^^ schools ot his native place until he ar- 

^^^^^^^ rived at the age of twelve years, when 

J^^^^H his parents both died. An orplian and 

!i Jip^ ^^^^^P alone he came to live with his uncle, 

JI^ ^L W^ Edward Tool, at Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 

Here he commenced the struggle of life 
as a slate picker boy and driver in the 
Empire breaker and mines. His treat- 
ment was such as a boy of his spirit 
could not undergo without serious pro- 
test, and he concluded to make a break 
for liberty. The canal boats then, as 
now, were loaded with coal at Nanti- 
coke, and in 1866, at the age of fifteen, 
we find this young boy engaged in the 
business made illustrious by the la- 
mented Garfield. For some years he 
tooted the festive horn at the locks, 
tended the boat motors and performed such other duties as the position of boatman 
required of him during the open season. During the winters he learned and fol- 
lowed the trade of moulder and various other things, until he had accumulated 
enough money to attend the Missionary Institute at Selinsgrove. During these 
years he also taught school, and, having become a disciple of Esculapius, studied 
medicine. In 1881 he graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at 
Baltimore. He came back to Snyder count}^, settled at Freeburg and engaged in 
the practice of his profession. Like many another doctor he entered the domain 
of politics through the coroner's door, to which office he was elected in 1883. For 
one term he investigated the causes of mysterious deaths, and at the expiration of 
his term as coroner he was made chairman of the Republican County Committee, 
which office he filled during the years 1886-88-89. For the same length of time 
he was a school director at Freeburg and is now, and has been for some years vice 
president of the Freeburg Academy. In 1889 he was appointed examiner on the 
Sunburj' Pension board over a number of applicants. This place he resigned in 
1890 to take his seat in the Legislature at the session of 1891, to which body he 
was elected by a handsome majority. In 1892 he was again elected by a majority 
of 763, a very flattering endorsement. In the session of 1893 he was appointed on 
the Committees on Elections, Health and Sanitation, Appropriations, Fish and 
Game, Judicial Apportionment, and made chairman of the Committee on Labor 
and Industry. He introduced and had passed, after much opposition, a law per- 
mitting the fishermen to put in racks for the purpose of catching eels during cer- 
tain seasons of the j'ear. 

Dr. Tool is one of the most active members of the House, and, as will be seen, 
has reached his present position over no royal highway. His life has been one of 
trials and struggles and no man ever sat in our Legislative Halls who has won the 
distinction more fairly. He is a very warm friend and admirer of Senator Quaj', 
and when the scheme of submitting to popular vote the choice of Senator was 
adopted in 1892, it was largely through his efforts that Senator Quay was so hand- 
son\ely endorsed in Snyder county, which was the first county to endorse him in 
the state. 



246 



House of Representatives. 




J' 



OHN C. WELLER, chairman of the 
House Committee on Agriculture) 
was born in Somerset, Pa., August 31, 
185:2, in the old stone jail (his father, 
John Weller, serving as sheriff" of the 
county at the time). He -was educated 
in the common schools and at the 
Millersville Normal school, Lancaster 
-^^ 'jMF county, from which institution he grad- 

m^mMt^^ 1^^ uated in the class of 1875. He taught 

^^^^Wll^ school in Somerset county for a num- 

ber of terms before and after he grad- 
uated, and in 1881 he was elected su- 
perintendent of the common schools of 
Somerset county. Mr. Weller filled 
this position creditably and successfully 
for six years, and since the expiration 
of his term ol office he has devoted his 
entire attention to his farm, which is 
one of the prettiest in Somerset county. 
Mr. Weller was elected to the Legisla- 
ture in 1891, and re-elected two years subsequent. Kecognizmg his familiarity 
with agricultural matters and the needs of the farmer. Speaker Thompson se- 
lected Mr. Weller for the chairmanship of the Agricultural Committee, a position 
which he is thoroughly competent to till. He is also a member of the Committee 
on Congressional Apportionment, Compare Bills, Centennial Affairs and Bureau 
of Statistics. Mr. Weller is a firm believer in the principles of the Republican 
party, and has for many years been one of the local leaders of his party in the 
county in which he resides. He was elected for three successive terms as justice 
of the peace in Milford township, and in 1888 was a delegate to the State Repub- 
lican Convention, by which Judge Mitchell, of Philadelphia, was nominated for 
justice of the state supreme court. Mr. Weller's father was a member of the 
House of Representatives in 1867, 1868 and 1869, and voted for the late General 
Simon Cameron for United States Senator. In 1891 Young Mr. Weller had the 
honor to cast his ballot for the son of the man for whom his father voted for 
United States Senator — J. Donald Cameron. Mr. Weller was married to Miss 
Laura B. Elliott in 1887. They have two children. 




House of Representatives. 



247 




EPHRAIM D. MILLER, oue of the 
two Republican Representatives in 
the House from Somerset county, was 
born in Milford township, that county, 
May 9, 1847. His ancestors were farm- 
ers and came from the counties of Lan- 
caster and Dauphin. Representative 
Miller's education was confined to what 
he received in the public and Normal 
schools of his county. After he had left 
school he taught for nine years, six of 
which in Grantsville, Maryland. In 
1870 he abandoned teaching and em- 
barked in the mercantile business at 
Iiockwood, Somerset county, continuing 
in it for eighteen j'ears. He was post- 
master at Rockwood, where he resides, 
under the administrations of Grant, 
Hayes and Garfield, covering a period 
of fourteen years. When Cleveland was 
elected he resigned the position because 
he believed in the principle that the victors should have control of the political 
oliQces. He was school director for fifteen years in his district but never was a 
candidate for a higher place until he decided to make a contest for member of the 
House in 1890. There were six candidates in the field for the Republican nomi- 
nation, and he had a higher number of votes than all the candidates combined 
except Mr. Weller, who was nominated at the same time. He was elected by a 
large majority and two years subsequently was re-nominated without opposition 
and again easily elected. As Somerset county was entitled to but one chairman 
of a committee, Mr. Miller agreed that his colleague should be placed at the head 
of the Committee on Agriculture while he would be satisfied with a position on 
the Committee on Appropriations. He was also appointed on the Committees of 
Federal Relations, Legislative Appportionment, Judiciary Local and Library. 
Mr. Miller introduced the bill relative to fraternal ))eneficial associations, defining 
their status, exempting them from taxation, and the operations of the insurance 
laws and requiring them simply to file statements of their business with the in- 
surance department. This bill received the approval of the Governor soon after 
its passage and is now one of the statutes of the state. It effects such associations 
as are not organized for profit but for protection of their members, like the Royal 
Arcanum, Heptosophs, etc, Mr. Miller also introduced a bill to appropriate 
§1,500 to repair the great stone bridge across the Youghiogheny. 



X 



248 



House of Representatives. 



MARSHALL J. LULL, of Sullivan 
county, is a Democrat and was 
boru at Hartland, Vermont, September 
24, 1850. When six months old his 
parents moved to Tunkhannock, Wyom- 
ing county, where he received his edu- 
cation in the common schools. In 1864, 
at the age of fourteen, he left his home 
and entered the Union army, connecting 
himself with the New York Mounted 
Rifles. He was very large for his age 
and encountered no difficulty in becom- 
ing a soldier. From 1865 until 1869 he 
followed the canal, and later did break- 
ing on a gravel train. Subsequently he 
was a conductor on a freight train, and 
since 1880 has been a passenger train 
conductor on the Lehigh Valley rail- 
road. Before coming to the Legislature 
he had charge of a train running be- 
tween Towauda and Lopez, four miles 
from Bernice, his home. He was a dele- 
gate to the State Convention of 1882 which nominated Governor Pattison the first 
time, and after having supported Simon P. Wolverton and Eckley B. Coxe voted 
for the winner. In 1888 the Democratic party of Sullivan county nominated him 
for the House, but he was defeated by Mr. Waddell by a small majority. In 1892 
he was again honored with the party nomination and was elected by about five 
hundred majority, while Cleveland carried the county by less than 400. When Grant 
Herring was nominated for State Senator Mr. Lull was a candidate for the office 
with the conferees of his county at his back. Finally he instructed his delegates 
to throw thoir votes for the Columbia county candidate, and he was made the 
Democratic nominee. In the House Mr. Lull was a member of the Committee on 
Mines and Mining, Federal Relations, Military, Corporations and Elections. He 
was also on the sub-committee which investigated the Andrews-Higby contest and 
submitted the minority report declaring Mr. Higby, the sitting member, entitled 
to his seat. 





House of Representatives. 



249 



PHILO BURRITT was boru April 11, 
1840, at Unioudale, Susquehanna 
county. His father was born in Connec- 
ticut and he is of Puritan extraction, 
being related to Elihu Burritt. the 
learned blacksmith of New England, 
who has been made famous by the local 
historians. On his maternal side, the 
subject of this sketch also can claim de- 
scent from New England .stock. The 
parents came to this state many years 
ago, and the father became a farmer. 
Mr. Burritt was sent to and received his 
early education in the common schools 
of his native town, but later he went to 
Wyoming Seminary to finish his studies, 
after which he taught school in Luzerne 
county for several terms. Mr. Burritt 
is a Republican and enters actively into 
all the political contests of his party, and 
has frequently been honored with po- 
litical place both by appointment and by election. He has been chairman of the 
Republican county convention of his county; has held the office of school director 
for twelve years, and has been assessor, poormaster, supervisor, town clerk and 
auditor. Since the incorporation of the town of Unioudale into a borough he has 
been secretary of the borough council. For many years he has taken great inter- 
est in church aftairs, and has held a prominent place as a member and trustee in 
the Presbyterian church in Uniondale. In the fall of 1890 Mr. Burritt was elected 
one of the representatives from Susquehanna county to the State Legislature, re- 
ceiving a majority of only 250 votes over that of his political opponent. In 1892 
he was re-elected by 1,078 majority. Mr. Burritt seldom indulges in the debates 
of the session, except when some measure is under consideration which afiects his 
constituency, and then he is found on the side of the people who elected him. At 
the session of 1893 he was assigned to the Committees on Appropriations, Con- 
gressional Apportionment, Retrenchment and Reform, Labor and Industry, and 
Iron and Coal. 




250 



House of Representatives. 



HUMPHKEY J. MILLARD, of Sus- 
quehanna county, was born De- 
cember 24, 1843, in Lennox, Susque- 
hanna county. He was thrown upon 
his own resources by the death of liis 
mother in early life. He attended as 
much as possible the district schools 
and private seminaries until eighteen 
years old. In 1862 he enlisted in com- 
pany H, One hundred and forty-fir.st 
regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers, and 
served in the United States service until 
the close of the war. He participated 
in all thirty engagements, the most im- 
portant of which were Fredericksburg, 
Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, 
North Anne, Cold Harbor and all the 
battles in front of Petersburg. He was 
also present at the surrender of Lee at 
Appomatox. At the close of the war 
Mr. Millard leturned home and contin- 
ued his studies under the personal instruction of John H. Harris, L. L. D., now 
president of Bucknell University, Lewisburg, for two years. In 1870 he was or- 
dained to the ministry, in which he has been very successful, especially in evan- 
gelistic work. Throat and lung trouble some time ago compelled him to throw 
aside active pastoral work. In connection with his professional duties he has for 
the past twenty years owned and managed a farm in Rush township, Susquehanna 
county. Mr. Millard was elected a member of the Legislature in 1892, and is a 
member of the Committees on Agriculture, Vice and Immorality, Health and 
Sanitation and Geological Survey. He is an active member of Bissell Post No. 
406, Grand Army of the Republic, and for a number of yeai's has delivered the 
address at different places on Memorial Day. While not a politician he has always 
taken an interest in politics. He is a firm believer in the principles of the Re- 
publican party, and cast his first vote in front of Petersburg when Abraham Lin- 
coln was a candidate for re-election. At the same time he served on the election 
board. Mr. Millard was married September 12, 1866, to Miss Baldwin of New 
Milford, Susquehanna county. Pa., and his family consists of two sons and one 
daughter. 





House of Representatives. 



251 




J' 



EKOME B. NILER, of Tioga county, 
was born at Middlebmy, Tioga 
county, September 25, 1 884. His grand- 
father adopted for his home what now 
constitutes Tioga county in 1796, two 
years before it was organized. His son, 
Aaron, the father of Representative 
Niles, was then twelve years old. Je- 
rome B. worked on his father's farm 
until he was of age in 1855. He was 
accorded very limited opportunities to 
acquire an education, but having a stu- 
dent's inclination he devoted much of 
liis time to reading and thus fortified 
himself with valuable information 
which did him great service in subse- 
quent years. When he reached man's 
estate he took a course at study in the 
Knoxville Academy and afterward 
taught school in Wellsboro and his na- 
tive township. His father was a Demo- 
crat, but at the birth of the Kepuljlican party young Niles joined that organiza- 
tion and has been an active member of it without interruption. In 1861 he was 
admitted to the bar, in 1862 elected district attorney of the county and in 1865 
re-elected. In 1868 and 1869 he was elected a member of the House, and in 1873 
a member of the Constitutional Convention from his district. In that body he 
was prominently identified with the shaping of important legislation which be- 
came a part of the organic law of the state. In 1880 he was again elected a mem- 
ber of the House and the following year took a commanding position as a Legisla- 
tor. He developed great aptitude for leadership and took a conspicuous stand in 
the movement which culminated in the success of Mr. Mitchell, of Tioga county, 
as the Republican candidate for United States Senator. Mr. Niles was re-elected 
in 1882, and in view of the creditable reputation he had made during his several 
terms in the Legislature was made the Republican caucus nominee for Speaker of 
the House, but as the Democrats controlled the body he was defeated for election. 
In 1883 he was nominated by the Republicans for Auditor General and elected by a 
large majority. His term began on the first Monday in May of the succeeding 
year, and his three years' administration of the office was marked by no deviation 
from the excellent record he had made in the public positions he had previously 
filled. In 1887 he was chosen a member of the commission appointed to draft tax 
legislation to take the place of the revenue bill whicb was mysteriously lost at the 
session of the Legislature of that year. In' 1890 he received nearly the entire 
vote of his county for the Republican congressional nomination in the Sixteenth 
district. Last fall ]\Ir. Niles was re-elected to the House, and at the session of 
1893 he introduced the bill to equalize taxation and was prominent in putting it 
in proper shape and advocating its passage. Mr. Niles was chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Manufactures and a member of the Ways and Means and Judiciary Gen- 
eral Committees. 



252 



House of Representatives. 



WALTER T. MERRICK, of Tioga 
^^^^^^ county, than whom there is no 

^^^HHRlJj^. more popular and intelligent member 

M'^""-^ vB^ Qf i\yQ House of Representatives, is a na- 

m ^B tive of Charleston township, Tioga 

1 ^H county, Pa. He was born June 12, 

wBll ^WR*. ^^ 1859, and was educated in the Mans- 

field State Normal school and the 
Elmira free academy. He studied law 
with Hon. Charles H. Seymour, of 
Tioga, and with the successful firm of 
Merrick & Young, at Wellsboro. He 
was admitted to the bar of Tioga county 
in 1886 and immediately began the 
practice of his profession in Blossburg, 
the mining center of Tioga county, 
where he still resides. 

Mr. Merrick takes a prominent part 
in politics and is one of the Republican 
leaders of Tioga county. He was elected 
to the Legislature for the first time in 
1892, running ahead of the whole Republican ticket. He is especially popular 
among the younger element of his party which accounts for his large majority. 
He is a member of the Committees on Corporations, of which he is secretary. Mines 
and Mining (in which he takes a special interest). Judiciary Local, Elections and 
Vice and Immorality. Besides taking an active part in debates on the floor of the 
House, he has been one of the foremost members of the committees of which he is 
a member. He is a earnest and logical talker, and is always listened with inter- 
est by his colleagues when engaged in a public discussion of legislation. He in- 
troduced a bill at the opening of the session providing for an appropriation of 
$20,000 to the Miner's Hospital, at Blossburg. The amount was reduced to 
$16,000 by the appropriations. In view of the large reductions which have been 
made by the committee in the appropriations this amount is very reasonable and 
goes for to prove Mr. Merrick's influence with the committee and the needs of 
the institution. 





House of Representatives. 



258 




B' 



lEXJAMIN K. FOCHT, editor of the 
Lewisburg Saturday Xcirs aud mem- 
ber from Union, was born in Perry 
county. March 12, ISfiS. On his father's 
side he is descended from a long line of 
Lutheran ministers, his great-grand- 
father coming from Germany in the last 
century. His father was the Rev. D- 
II. Focht, a theologian and orator of 
note, who died when the subject of this 
sketch was but one year old. His 
mother was the daughter of John 
Brown, an original settler and exten- 
sive land owner in the borough of Lewis- 
burg, and after his father's death his 
mother and family removed to the latter 
place, where Benjamin K. Focht has 
since resided. During his early youth 
he attended the Bucknell Academy, at 
Lewisburg, State College and the Insti- 
tute at Selinsgrove, and entered a print- 
ing office as apprentice at fourteen. In 1881, at the age of eighteen years, he 
wrote the salutatory for the first issue of the Lewisburg Local IVews, of which he 
was part owner for one year, when be assumed sole proprietorship and changed 
the name of the paper to the Lewisburg Saturday News. From then until now he 
has continued in the same capacity, surmounting in his early struggle for business 
life the most embarrassing obstacles, until now he owns one of the best equipped 
and most complete newspaper plants in Central Pennsylvania, and ranks among 
the strongest editorial writers. In 1887 he was married to the daughter of H. G. 
"Wolf, a prominent merchant and president of the Farmers' Bank, Mifilinburg. 
Has one child, a daughter, one year old. Before he was of age Mr. Focht entered 
politics, taking side, in his paper in the memorable battle that attended the Inde- 
pendent revolt, standing for the Stalwart ticket. In 1889 he was elected delegate 
to the State Convention. In 1892 he was chosen and served as Congressional con- 
feree ; was three times elected delegate to the Republican League State Cenven- 
tion ; was a candidate for the Republican nomination for assembly in 1890, but 
was defeated in a three-cornered contest. He was again a candidate in 1892, and 
won at the primary and general election, although bitterly opposed on account of 
his leadership in tlie battle the year previous, when Judge Bucher, Democrat, 
was defeated in the Union-Snyder-Miftlin district. This victory was won by Mr. 
Focht's brother-in-law, H. M. McClure, Republican, who at the time resided in 
Northumberland county, and over a man who was reputed to be the most saga- 
cious politician in Central Pennsylvania and who had as his sup^wrters nearly the 
entire bar of the district, all the old politicians, all the Democratic papers of the 
district and five Republican papers, and in addition had the prestige of having 
carried the district in 1871 over an able lawyer by more than 2,000 majority. This 
victory at once gave Mr. Focht a place among the best organizers and resourceful 
leaders in the state. As a member of the House he stands among the most active 
aud hard-working legislators, having secured the passage through the House of a 
majority of the most important bills he introduced. 



254 



House of Representatives. 




HENRY F. JAMES, one of the Rep- 
resentatives from Venango county, 
son of Edwin and Sarah G. (Sandsbury) 
James, was born in Nantucket, Mass., 
on December 3, 1841. He learned the 
trade of a cooper and afterwards engaged 
in the whaling business, acquiring a 
good knowledge of navigation and hav- 
ing for years the perils of the deep. In 
1861 he came to Venango county. Pa., 
attracted by the petroleum develop- 
ments which proved so inviting to 
young and ambitious spirits. Early in 
1864 he superintended important oil in- 
terests at Pithole, the phenomenal town 
that blazed like a meteor for a season 
and then went out forever. In 1871 he 
removed to Sugar Creek township to 
take charge of the Franklin pipe-line. 
Soon he leased a large part of the old 
McCalmot farm and began operating on 
his own account, meeting with much success. His practical skill did him good 
service and he drilled scores of profitable wells in the lubricatory districts, many 
of which are producing to-day. With characteristic energy he entered into every 
project calculated to benefit the community. For many years he has been a 
prominent school director, always taking a leading share in furthering the cause 
of education. The public schools of Sugar Creek has no warmer, wiser friend, and 
to his efforts their high standard of excellence is largely attributable. He Avas 
also one of the organizers and, during its entire existence, an active director of the 
Venango Agricultural Society, which has held a foremost place among such in- 
stitutions in this commonwealth. In 1866 he married Miss Susan Hunter, of 
Nantucket, who bore him two children. Bertha and Frank. The happy family 
occupy a handsome home near Franklin on the farm which Mr. James cultivates 
and where most of his oil wells are located. He pays close attention to the best 
methods of improving the soil, has done splendid work in the direction of better 
roads and keeps abreast of the times in stock-raising and kindred pursuits. 

Mr. James is in the very prime of vigorous manhood, and an earnest Republican, 
above the average height and weight, his appearance inspires respect. He is now 
serving his second term in the Legislature, having been re-elected by an immense 
majority. His sturdy defense of the rights of his constituents, when adverse 
legislation threatened grave disaster to the producers of Venango and adjacent 
counties, won him the confidence of all classes, irrespective of partJ^ They recog- 
nised his loyalty to principle, his discriminating zeal for the public good and his 
thorough trustworthiness. He is a ready speaker, a man of unquestioned integrity, 
personally hospitable, a profound hater of shams, influential with his fellow-mem- 
bers, and in every way admirably qualified to represent an intelligent, progressive 
constituency. 



House of Jiejiresentati'ves. 



255 



JOHN L. MATTOX. one of the Ve- 
J nango county members, was born near 
f^andy Lake, Mercer county, July 15, 
1859, and enjoys the distinction of hav- 
ing been born in the same year with 
Representatives Mates, of Butler, and 
Merrick, of Tioga, all three of whose 
names appear in consecutive order on 
the roll call. Mr. Mattox was the son 
of a soldier who died in the Union army 
and was buried at Arlington Heights, 
Virginia. He began his educational 
training in the soldiers' orphan school 
at Mercer, in which institution he re- 
mained five years and subsequently en- 
tered Westminster College at New 
Wilmington, Pa. He feels much in- 
debted to Mr. K. 11. Wright, of Mercer, 
who advanced him the necessarj- funds 
to complete his collegiate education. 
Mr. Mattox graduated from the college 
in 1883, afterward taught school near Oil City and for five years was principal of 
the schools of Pleasantville, Venango county, where he was married to the 
daughter of D. W. Henderson. He read law with ex-Senator Lee and ex-Repre- 
sentative Hays (who is now his law partner), and was admitted to the bar in 1889. 
His school teaching days gave him a wide acquaintance and did him good service 
when he ran for the legislative nomination in 1892 and for his election the same 
year. He was loyally supported by his own party (the Republicans), received 
many Democratic votes and obtained an unusually large majority. At the session 
of 1893 he was a member of the Judiciary General, Elections, Municipal Corpora- 
tions, Federal Relations, ISIilitary and Pensions and Gratuities Committees. He 
was also on the sub-committee which inquired into the contested election cases 
instituted to unseat Representatives Baker, of Montgomery, and Quinnan, of 
I.,ackawanna, respectively. 




256 



Ilowie of Representatives. 




C^ 



.\LEB C. THOMPSON, of Warren 
county, Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, Avas born May 28, 1846, 
in Pine Grove township, Warren couuty. 
Pa. He was educated in the common 
schools, at the Ediuboro State Normal 
School, the Jamestown (New York) 
Union school and collegiate institute. 
He worked on a farm and taught school 
irntil 1869, when he began the study of 
the law at Warren with Brown & Stone. 
He was admitted to the bar in 1871 and 
successfully practiced his profession at 
Tidioute, Pa., until 1881, when he re- 
moved to Warren where he has since 
been in active practice. In February, 
1878, he was elected burgess of Tidioute 
and in November, 1878, district attor- 
ney of Warren county. He was burgess 
of Warren borough in 1885 and at vari- 
ous times a member of the school board 
of Tidioute and Warren boroughs. Mr. Thompson was elected a member of the 
Legislature from Warren county in 1888 and at once took a leading part in debate 
and consideration of important measures on the tioor of the House and in commit- 
tee. So well did he represent his constituents that they returned him in 1890 and 
again in 1892. He was elected Speaker of the House January 6, 1891, after a bit- 
ter struggle, defeating Hon. William H. Brooks, of Philadelphia, now collector of 
internal revenue for the First district, who was endorsed by the Philadelphia dele- 
gation; also a number of other prominent candidates. At the organization of the 
present session Mr. Thompson was the unanimous choice of the Republican caucus 
for the position he so creditably fills. He is dignified and impartial when in the 
Speaker's chair and has the respect of every member of the House. His rulings 
have always been fair and impartial and have met with the approval of both par- 
ties. Mr. Thompson is a ready debater, an eloquent and forcible talker and an 
able parliamentarian. He is an enthusiastic Republican and will likely be the 
nominee of his party for State Treasurer in the foil of 1893. 




House of Representatives. 



25; 




GEORGE V. LAWRENCE, of Wash- 
ington, chairman of the Congres- 
sional Apportionment committee and 
the oldest member of the House, was 
born in Washington county, Pa., No- 
vember 13, 1819. He was liberally edu- 
cated and endowed with strong mental 
powers, but he never showed taste for 
any of the professions, devoting himself 
exclusively to agriculture and politics, 
in which he had always been regarded 
as an expert. In legislation he ranked 
with the ablest men of his own and 
rival parties,and was recognized as capa- 
able to discharge any duty in connec- 
tion willi the work of committees to 
which he was assigned in Congress and 
in both branches of the Legislature, 
Avhere he served. Mr. Lawrence was 
first elected to the Legislature in 1843. 
He was re-elected in 1847, 1858 and 
1859. He was chosen a member of the State Senate in 1848, '49, '50, '51 and '60, 
serving with marked ability and great credit as Speaker of that body during the last 
session in 1861. He was elected a member of Congress in 1864, '66 and '82. In 1873 
he was one of the delegates-at-large to the constitutional convention, which framed 
the present constitution. After remaining in private life for a number of yeare 
Mr. Lawrence again appeared as a member of the Legislature of the lower branch, 
in which he now takes a very active part. He comes from a fomily of statesmen, 
his father having served in the State Legislature and Congress and two of his un- 
cles and two brothers having displayed marked ability as members of the State 
Legislature. His father, Joseph Lawrence, served four terms in the House of 
Representatives and was Speaker of that body in 1822 and '24. His father's two 
brothers, John and Samuel Lawrence, were elected to the House from Beaver 
•county about 1820. William, a brother of the subject of this sketch, was elected 
to the House from Dauphin county in 1858 and '60. He served as Speaker during 
his last term. Samuel, another brother, was Warren county's representative in the 
lower branch in 1860. Mr. I^awrence is chairman of the House Congressional Ap- 
portionment committee and a member of other important committees, including 
the special committee to investigate the Philadelphia electric light trust. The 
■characteristic of Mr. Lawrence in public life has been his tenacity in devotion to 
the Republican party, never swerving from his zeal in supporting its measures and 
men. Whatever he undertook to do he always did with ability and courage, act- 
ing fairly to his opponents, but losing no opportunity to advance the interests of 
his party. He is a plain and convincing speaker, a ready debater and one of the 
most valuable members of the present Legislature. Wherever he is known he is 
regarded with great respect in business and social life. 



17 



258 



House of Represejitailves. 




D 



I AVID MILLER ANDERSON, of 
Washington, was born in Beaver 
county, Pa., November 30, 1837. He 
Ava.s educated in the public schools and 
at the academy at Hookstown and 
Beaver. In 1854, with his father and 
brother, he went to Chile. South Amer- 
ica, where he lived until November, 
1S61. On his return to the United 
States he read medicine for a short 
time and served with credit as acting 
7uedical cadet at Camp Curtin, Harris- 
burg. After one course of lectures at 
Ann Arbor, he received a commission as 
assistant surgeon, Twelfth United States 
colored troops, in April, 1864, and served 
until the close of the war. In 1866 he 
was graduated from Bellevue Hospital 
Medical College. He practiced medi- 
cine with success for a number of years 
in Washington county, but was finally 
Compelled to relinguish his practice to devote all his attention to his coal interests. 
Mr. Anderson is a firm believer in the principles and doctrine of the Republican 
party and takes an active interest in its welfare in the county which he has the 
honor to represent in the Legislature. He is a member of the Committees on 
Railroads, Mines and Mining, Iron and Coal and Banks. In 1865 he was married 
to Miss Charity S. Wright, of Washington county. They have two children — a 
son and daughter. Mr. Anderson is serving his first term in the House of Repre- 
sentatives. He has introduced a number ot important measures. 




House of RepvesenUilives. 



259 




T' 



'HOxMAS McClelland patter- 

l^ON, of Washington, is a son of 
John and Jane (McClelland) Patterson. 
He was born in Hopewell township, 
Washington county, Pa., April, 1853, 
and was educated in the public schools 
of that region. January 3, 1878, Mr- 
Patterson was married to Lizzie, daugh- 
ter of AVilliam and Catharine Proudfit, 
of the same county. He pursued the 
vocation of farming and stock raising 
until 1866 when he removed to Bnr- 
gettstown, where he has since resided. 
He is a tirm believer in the principles of 
the Republican party and was elected tO' 
the Legislature for the first time in 1891. 
He took an active part in the proceed- 
ings of that session and served on the 
Committees of Agriculture, Labor and 
Industry, Iron and Coal, Constitutional 
Reform and Geological Survey. 

Recognizing his faithfulness to his 
trust and liis fitness to represent them in the halls of the Legislature Mr. Patter- 
.son was returned to the Hou.se in 1892 by the electors of his district. He is a 
member of the Committees on Appropriations, Corporations, Elections, Public 
Printing and Compare Bills, being chairman of the last-named committee. He is 
a forcible and logical talker, but is rarely heard on the floor of the House except 
•when the interests of his constituents are at stake. In committees he is a tireless 
worker, always on the side of the people. He is a quiet and unassuming gentle- 
man with hosts of friends who admire him for his straight forward, manly course. 




260 



House of Representatives. 




W 



'ILLIAM N. CURTIS, Avho, as a 
Republican, eujoysthe distinction 
of representing a Democratic county 
(Wayne), was born in Scranton, April 
15, 1857. He is the second son of Moses 
Curtis, and when he was seven years 
old his father moved on a farm in Ca- 
naan, Waj'ue county. In summer he 
assisted his father on the farm and in 
winter attended the public schools until 
he attained his majority. At the age 
of twenty-two years he went to Ripou, 
Wisconsin, whe"e he entered the ser- 
vice of a prosperous farmer, serving as 
his foreman for two years. In January, 
1882, he married Miss Lena A. Morey, 
of Ripon, the daughter of an extensive 
farmer. Mr. Curtis' brother and brother- 
in-law are all engaged in agricultural 
pursuits, and he is a prominent mem- 
ber of his local grange, in whose organ- 
ization he was active. In April, 1892, he purchased his father's farm, containing 
one hundred and thirty-three acres, which was part of the original grant made by 
the commonwealth to his great-grandfather, Henry Curtis. Representative Curtis 
has followed farming since he was a boy. In conjunction with it he did a profi- 
table business as a shipper of horses for si.x years, from 1885. His nomination for 
memher of the House was a surprise to him, as he did not enter the field for the 
place. He was not present at the convention which selected him, and no delegate 
to it was solicited lor his vote by him. His selection was simply a recognition of 
his worth, and the people of Wayne county ratified the action of his party by se- 
lecting him as one of the two representatives of the House to which the county is 
entitled. Mr. Curtis is an industrious legislator and has exhibited a particular 
interest in bills intended to advance the prosperity of the farmers of the state. 




House of Representatives. 



2dl 




TOHN KUHBACH, the Democratic 
J Representative from Wayne county, 
was born in Texas township, Wayne 
county, Pa., September 1-2, 1865. He 
received his education in the public 
schools, graduating from the Honesdale 
High school in 1883 with the highest 
honors. Was employed as teacher in 
the public schools of Texas township 
several terms. Was deputy postmaster 
of Honesdale in 1885-86 and for the past 
five years has held the trusted position 
of head bookkeeper of the firm of Dur- 
land, Thompson & Co., manufacturers 
of boots and shoes. 

Since attaining his majority he has 
taken a deep interest in politics and a 
prominent part in the political afiairs 
of his township and county. He has 
been a member of the Texas Township 
School Board for the past five years and 
is now serving his second year as secretary of the board. He was secretary of the 
Democratic County Committee of Wayne county in 1880, and in 1890 and 1891 he 
was its chairman, which position he filled with credit and satisfaction to the De- 
mocracy of Wayne county. He has been a delegate to several State conventions 
and was unanimously nominated for the ofiice of Representative of Wayne county 
by the Democratic County convention of 1892, and at the election received the 
highest number of votes cast for that office. 

He was a member of the committees on Judiciary, Local, Agriculture and Li- 
brary, and introduced a bill for the taxation of dogs and protection of sheep, and 
a bill making an appropriation for the construction and maintenance of a ho.spital 
at Honesdale, Pa., for the counties of Wayne and Pike. 




262 



House of Representatives. 



WILLIAM DALE, the only Demo- 
cratic niemlier from "Westmore- 
land county, was boru in Clarion count}-. 
May 28, 1851. When he was eighteen 
months old his family moved to Blair 
county, near Tyrone, where he remained 
until he was about twenty years of age. 
He attended the schools of Blair countj^ 
and soon after he had finished his edu- 
cation he made his home in the lumber 
regions of Clearfield county, in Avhich 
he worked. In 1877 he transferred his 
base of operations to Blairsville, Indiana 
county, and entered the mercantile 
business. Two years afterward he took 
up his residence at Latrobe, in which 
town he has resided since, and contin- 
ued that business. The delegation from 
Westmoreland county originally con- 
sisted of three Democrats and one Re- 
publican, but the House reversed the 
political order of things bj- ousting two of the Democrats and admitting their Repub- 
lican contestants. The majorities of these Democrats were very small, but ]\Ir. Dale 
had a margin of nearly two hundred votes, secured on his great popularity' at his 
home, which he carried by about the majority by which he was elected. Latrobe 
is generally Republican by a small majority. Mr. Dale has always been a staunch 
Democrat and stands exceedingly well with his party in Westmoreland county. In 
188.") he attended the Democratic state convention as a delegate. When elected to 
the Legislature he was president of Latrobe council, which position he resigned, 
because, in his opinion, the two jilaces were incompatible. Mr. Dale served on 
the Committees on Centennial Aftairs.Vice and Immorality, Legislative Apportion- 
ment and Library. 





House of Representalives. 



2()3 




SAMUEL D. MURPHY, of West- 
moreland county, is of Scotch-Irish 
and Spanish extraction. His paternal 
ancestors were among the brave defend- 
ers of the Aiir city of Londonderry dur- 
ing the memorable siege of 1688 and 
1689. Joseph Murphj'- (the great-grand- 
father of Representative Murphy), of 
the " Cragon," was a man of education 
and influence and followed horse-breed- 
ing, manufacturing of liquors and salt 
in the county of Derry, Ireland. He 
married Jane Glendenning, of Scotland, 
whose family was one of rank in the 
feudal history of that country. William 
(the grandfather) was well educated, 
married Eve Dickey about 1790, who.se 
father was also a distiller of Antrim. 
His wife was the daughter of a Spanish 
grandee, living near Lisbon. William 
came to this country and settled in Fair- 
field township, Westmoreland county, about 1794, where Joseph Murphy, the 
father of Representative Murphy, was born January 19, 1800, and resided until 
his death, in 1878. The maternal ancestry is purely Scotch and comes down from 
that brave and trusted leader. Sir James Rose, who fell upon the sanguinary field 
of Flodeu, and from Sir Godfrey McCulloch, of Montieth, Wigsonshire, Scotland, 
through a long line of farmers, doctors, merchants and sea-faring men who have 
been particularly noted for intelligence and devotednessin their callings. Repre- 
sentative Murphy was born January 12, 1846, in Fairfield township, Westmore- 
land county, and was educated in the common schools. At the age of eighteen, 
on February 28, 1864, he enlisted in company D, Fourth regiment Pennsylvania 
volunteer cavalry, joined his regiment at Spottsylvania Court House and partici- 
pated with it in all after engagements. Two horses were killed under him, but 
hee.scaped injurj' himself. He was honorably discharged July 5, 1H65, at Lynch- 
burg, Virginia. Returning to his native place he taught school for two winters 
but gradually drifted into dealing in live stock, which he followed till 1870. when 
he engaged in the milling business in Ligouier township, Westmoreland county. 
This business he successfully conducted for ten years. On account of fiiiling 
health he sold his mill property and began his present business, that of farming 
and stock-raising. He has served two terms as justice of the peace and never had 
a decision reversed by the higher court. He was census enumerator for his dis- 
trict in 1890 and was nominated in the same year for assembly. He came nearer 
being elected than any of his party candidates, being defeated by only 188 votes. 
He was again nominated in 1892 and elected. He has always been a staunch Re- 
publican and an advocate of the most advanced ideas. He introduced a bill relat- 
ing to lateral railroads, enabling them to cross county lines; a bill authorizing 
juries in murder trials to decide whether the punishment should be hanging or 
imprisonment for life, and to repeal the special prohibitorj' liquor law of Mount 
Pleasant, Pa. He was appointed ou the Committee of Agriculture, Accounts, 
Education. Labor and Industrv and Wavs and Means. 



26-i 



House of Represerdatives. 




A. 



B. HUNTER, of Westmoreland 
county, was born December 17, 
1848, in South Huntingdon township. 
He is the son of a farmer and received 
a thorough education in the common 
schools of his neighborhood, attending 
between the years of 1858 and 1866, 
but was only allowed to attend during 
a few months of the term, being com- 
pelled by circumstances to remain at 
home and assist his lather with the 
farm work. He is of Scotch -Irish de- 
scent and was the only son, and, of 
course, much of the work fell upon him 
when his father was called away from 
home. He followed the occupation of 
farmer until he was twenty-one years 
of age. Mr. Hunter took unto himself 
a wife when he was twenty-six years 
old in the person of Miss Sarah F. Bell, 
a talented young lady living with her 
parents in his neighborhood. The wedding took place September 15, 1874. In 
1879 he was elected township auditor, in a Democratic township, with a majority 
of over 100. This alone showed the high esteem in which he was held by his 
fellow-men at his own home. He was very successful in all his political work, as 
with all his undertakings, and in 1885 Mr. Hunter was chosen as a delegate to 
the Republican State Convention at Harrisburg. He has been a very successful 
farmer and stock raiser and has devoted all his life to farming. He is at present 
president of the Sewickley Mutual Fire Insurance Company, with headquarters 
at West Newton, Mr. Hunter's home. He is the father of eight children, all of 
whom are living. The oldest, a son. is farming. In 1893 he was a candidate for 
representative from his district, but was declared defeated by the official vote as 
returned by 33 votes, Eli Waugaman having been elected. The contest that 
ensued resulted in Mr. Hunter's election over Mr. Waugaman by 52 votes, so di- 
rected by Judge Doty, of Westmoreland county, who declared that Mr. Hunter 
was entitled to the certificate as issued. He was seated March 14. Mr. Hunter 
served on the committees on Judicial Apportionment, Millitary and Constitutional 
Reform. 




House of Representatives. 



26.1 



"1 17" NEWTON PORTER, of West- 
** • moreland county, was born in 
Luzerne township, Fayette county. Pa., 
on June 22, 1843. He was brought up 
as a farmer boy on his father's farm, 
near Brownsville, Pa. He received his 
education in the common schools in the 
district and afterwards attended the 
Merrittstown Academy. After leaving 
school, having taken a fancy to me- 
chanics, he learned the machinist's 
trade at Brownsville, Pa., in 1864-65, 
during which period he married Miss 
Mary Braithwaite, an estimable young 
lady eighteen years of age. One daugh- 
ter graces this name. Mr. Porter worked 
at his trade until 1873, when he became 
foreman of the National Locomotive 
Works of Councils ville. Pa., which po- 
sition he held until 1879, when he re- 
signed to take charge of the Scottdale 
rolling mill as chief engineer and mill- 
right. He occupied this position until 1884, when he resigned to enter newspaper 
work, in which he was engaged either as editor or manager until October 1, 1892. 
In 1884 he entered the political arena and was elected councilman for one year in 
the borough of Scottdale and was re-elected for the term of 1885-86. After hav- 
ing filled this office with much credit to himself and citizens, he was elected bur- 
gess of the same borough and served for three terms, 1887-88-89. He was nomi- 
nated on the Republican ticket for assembly in 1890 but was defeated with the 
balance of the ticket by a small plurality. In 1892 he was re-nominated by the 
same party but was declared defeated by nine votes by AV. R. Barnhart on the 
official returns. It was afterwards learned that a clerical error had occurred in the 
Bessimer election precinct, which, when the ballot box was opened, resulted in a 
tie vote of 10,765 each for Barnhart and Porter. A contest was inaugurated, 
which resulted in Porter being declared by the commission and judge of the county 
elected by a majoritj' of eighty-two votes. Mr. Porter is a member of the follow- 
ing committees : Education, Congressional Apportionment, Federal Relations, and 
Constitutional Reform. 





266 



House of Representatives. 




FRANK H. PIATT, the member from 
Wyoming county, who was elected 
on the Democratic ticket, was born in 
Tuokhannock, Wyoming county, Pa., 
December 25, 1848. He began attend- 
ing the common schools at an early date 
and in 1866 entered Lafayette College, 
from which institution he graduated in 
1870. Subsequently he became a civil 
engineer, which occupation he followed 
for five years, doing work on the Mont- 
rose railway and on the river survey 
from Wilkes-Barre to the state line to 
ascertain whether the Susquehanna 
could be made navigable between tliose 
points — an experiment which resulted 
in demonstrating the impracticability 
of the suggested scheme. Governor 
Geary appointed Mr. Piatt superintend- 
ent of common schools of Wyoming 
county in 1871 to fill the unexpired 
term of Rev. C. R. Lane, who resigned nine mouths before he had served his full 
three years. Mr. Piatt was postmaster at Tunkhannock for four years and seven 
months under appointment of President Cleveland. He is a member of the school 
board of his town and has occupied the position for fifteen years. He has been its 
secretary and president and has served as a member of council and borough and 
school treasurer. The high esteem in which he is held by the people of his county 
was illustrated in the majority by which he was elected to the Legislature. Presi- 
dent Harrison carried Wyoming county by 124 majority, while Mr. Piatt was 
chosen member of the House by 333 majority. He is a member of the Committee 
on Congressional Apportionment, Military and Railroads. His constituents have 
been very kind to him, as they have not asked him to present any bill for the 
consideration of the Legislature. Mr. Piatt has not appeared in debate but has 
missed but one roll call during the session. He has also been regular in his at- 
tendance at the meetings of the committees to which he is attached. His paternal 
ancestry dates back to the Bradys, the famous Indian fighters. One of these 
(Captain Brady) was killed by the redskins, and a monument has been erected to 
his memory at Muncy. Mr. Piatt is the son of William M. Piatt, who was 
Speaker of the Pennsylvania Senate in 1856 and a familiar figure in Pennsylvania 
political history. 






House of Representatives. 



2(37 




DANIEL S. DUBS, of Marburg, York 
county, was born in Manheini 
township, York county, Pa., October 
26, 1854. He is of Hessian-Irish descent, 
his great-grandfather having; come from 
He-sse Cassel, Germany, and his great 
grandmother from Ireland. His great- 
grandfather, Daniel Dubs, was deeply 
interested in the welfare of his country- 
men and opposed to the treatment of 
the Hessians. The grandfather, Daniel 
Dubs, came to America and secured 320 
acres of land in York county, part of 
which is now owned by the subject of 
this sketch. His son, William, had 
three children, all sons, Henry, Daniel 
and William, the second-named being 
the present representative. Both parents 
have died some years since. Mr. Dubs 
was reared on a farm and attended the 
public schools of the neighborhood for 
years, but was afterwards sent to the Glen Lock Academy, which he attended 
two sessions, taking a complete academic course. Shortly thereafter he attended 
a private normal school at Hanover, Pa. He was but seventeen years old when 
he took charge of a public school near his home, and has spent almost all his life 
in the public school room. On August 4, 1885, he was granted a professional cer- 
tificate, which was renewed May 5, 1888, and after passing a very creditable ex- 
amination a permanent certificate was granted him October 6, 1888. He was ap- 
pointed as Congressional referee by Hon. Levi Maish, member of Congress, in 1885, 
and in 1887 he was selected as a member of the examining committee to examine 
applicants for the appointment of a cadet to the LTnited States Naval Academy at 
Annapolis. Md. In 1887 he was chairman of the Democratic County Convention, 
and in 1890 elected a member of the House of Kepresentatives from his district. 
By occupation he is a school teacher, but has devoted much time to storekeeping, 
surveying and the real estate business. Mr. Dubs was reelected to the Legisla- 
ture in 1892 by a large majority, leading his ticket by a vote of 106. He is a 
very popular politician and a creditable member of the Legislature. He is a 
member on the Committees on Insurance, Corporations, Vice and Immorality and 
Judiciary Local. He introduced bills authorizing and regulating the taking, use 
and occupancy of certain public burial places under certain circumstances for pur- 
poses of common school education, and prohibiting peddling or hawking of mer- 
chandise or goods throu";h the state. 



MS 



J louse of Representaticts. 





1 


f^ 




• 


1 


1 

i 




[*^ 










A: 





TAMES P. ROBINSON, of Long Level, 
J Y. 



York county, was born September 
'22, 1840, in Cecil county, Maryland, 
and is one of the most genial gentlemen 
in the Legislature. His father being a 
gentleman of limited means and a la- 
borer, his son James was compelled to 
forego many of the luxuries of life. His 
parents managed, however, notwith- 
standing these adverse circumstances, 
to send their son to the public schools of 
their vicinity at an early age, where he 
became an apt pupil and a favorite 
among his schoolmates. He was soon 
a leader 'in the athletic sports of the 
day. After leaving school he associated 
himself with a merchant in his neigh- 
borhood as a clerk. His aptness as a 
clerk soon won for him the confidence 
of his emploj^er and he was given charge 
of the business at different times while 
the proprietor was away on business. By his frugality, Mr. Robinson accumu- 
lated enough money to start in the mercantile business him.self A large and 
profitable business was built up in the neighborhood in whicli he resided, and he 
has been known near and far for his honest dealings and pleasant manner. It was 
while in this business that his friends urged him to allow them to nse his name as 
a candidate for school director. He Avas elected by a large vote for the first term 
in 1887. After serving this term his usefulness had made itself felt, and he has 
been re-elected, occupying that position at present. In 1885 he was elected for the 
first time as a member of the House of Representatives and returned again this 
term. He is a member of the Committees on Fish and Game, Accounts, Compare 
Bills and Geological Survey. Mr. Robinson introduced a supplement to the log 
bill and a bill permitting townships to elect supervisors in election districts. He 
is a gentleman of fine phy.sique and retains excellent health. 




House of Representatives. 



269 




H 



ENKY WARREN FISH EL, M. D.' 
was born iu Siddonsburg, York 
connrv, Pa., Jamiary 24, 1852. He 
attended the public schools during 
the winter season until he was eighteen 
years of age, when he began teaching 
in tlie public .schools of York and Cum- 
berland counties. In 1876 he was 
graduated at the Millersville State 
Normal school, doing during that year 
con.siderable literary work for the Cen- 
tennial exhil)ition. He was in the same 
year made assistant principal of the 
public schools of Millersburg, Pa., and 
in the following year was made princi- 
pal, which position he held until the 
summer of 1880. He was connected 
with J. B. Lippincott & Co., of Phila- 
delphia, the next year and in 1882 was 
chosen to fill the chair of Didactics in 
the State Normal school at Shippens- 
burg, Pa. The following year he was elected to the chair of English literature 
and rhetoric in the same institution, but resigned several weeks before the open- 
ing of the fall term to accept a position with a New York house. In 1886 he was 
graduated in medicine at the University of Maryland. He practiced his profes- 
sion for a short time only, preferring to follow mercantile lines. He has success- 
fully followed the latter ever since at his present home, Dillsburg, Pa., Harris- 
burg and Philadelphia. In 1881 he contested with Prof. I). H. E. LaRoss for the 
county superintency of Dauphin county public schools, but the Republican ma- 
jority of Dauphin proved too much for him. He has served his borough in the 
school board and town council but has never sought other office until he was 
elected to represent his county in the House of Representatives. He was a dele- 
gate to the Scranton convention which nominated Robert E. Pattison for Gov- 
ernor. He .served as president of the board of directors of the Methodist book 
rooms at Harrisburg, Pa., for two years and is a director in the Dillsburg National 
Bank. He helped organize and served as secretary of the Dillsburg Manufactur- 
ing Company, is a member of the Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Association and 
commander of Fortney camp 307, Sons of Veterans. In his borough, when he ran 
for the Legislature, he received half the Republican and the entire Democratic 
vote and ran 100 ahead of President Cleveland in his county. He served on the 
Committees of Education, Manufactures and Vice and Immorality. Mr. Fisliel 
married Miss Sarah C. Singer, of Halifax, Pa., December 2I{, 1879, and has two 
children — Walter, aged ten, and Verua, aged seven. He is the oldest of a family 
of ten boys and never had a sister. All the family are staunch Democrats. His 
grand-parents on his mother's side were among the early settlers of Eastern Penn- 
sylvania. His father served in company I, Two hundredth regiment Pennsylva- 
nia volunteers and was shot through the body within a sixteenth of an inch of the 
heart in front of Petersburg, Virginia, from which wound he recovered. He still 
survives. The subject of this sketch is live and progressive in educational and 
business affairs and is well and favorably known throughout his own and other 
states. 



270 



House of Representalives. 




HENRY M. BOKTNER, of York, one 
of the oldest members of the House, 
was born in Codorus township, York 
county, Pa., January 3, 1821. He has 
filled many public offices with marked 
credit and ability. He served eleven 
years as as.sessor, nine years as school 
director, one year as judge of elections 
and two as treasurer of York county. 
In 1886 he was elected to the House of 
Representatives. He was reelected in 
1892 and is a member of the Committees 
on Agriculture, Constitutional Reform, 
Library, Manufactures, Public Build- 
ings and Printing. Mr. Bortner has 
never been anything else but a Demo- 
crat and is one of the leaders of his 
party in York county. The following 
poem was written by Mr. Bortner : 



Henry M. Bortner is my name, 
Henrietta comes near the same: 
She was a Dubbs before my wife; 
Ten children we have yet alive. 

Albert, a son, stands number one, 
The fourth a son his name is John, 
The second Louisa Jane you see, 
Henrietta came number three. 

Josiah fifth, he is a son. 

They all left home except this one; 



Amanda sixth, she was not well, 
And now she is I'm glad to tell. 

And Edgar eight, and that is so. 
He runs the car to Baltimore: 
Ninth Laura, she is only small; 
Alice she Is the last of all. 

And George, a son, came number seven; 
After death all meet in heaven. 
And then we can see each other- 
Children, Father and their Mother. 



Mr, Bortner recently celebrated his seventy-first birthday and wrote the annexed 
poem for the occasion : 



When I was young, I had much fun. 
To-day 1 reach my seventy-one. 
The day, when I was tifty-one. 
I tilled the place of Treasurer John. 

The Auditors, when tlfty-two. 
Approved accounts, correct and true. 
Refunding orders, were all away, 
I left no space, for them to stay. 

For it was what was overpaid, 

More than you need to keep you straight. 

Without a voucher to pay it back, ■ 

If not, you keep it in your sack. 

On my birthday, when tifty-three, 
Went out of office, for I was free. 



Thirteen years, from this day later. 
Went to the house of legislator. 

Give one term more, is all I ask. 
And then will say, my time is past. 
As I am going down the hill. 
Day after day, tending the mill. 

Yes, over seventeen thousand day, 
A long journey, for me to stay; 
And many times, in winter day, 
No sleep, no rest, no bed to lay. 

To rest myself, a half an hour. 
All day and night, when making flour. 
How many more, I cannot tell, 
I say good-bye, farewell, farewell. 



Below is another poem l)y tlie same author, written January 3, 18S3 : 



On the eighth day of November, 

I was elected as a member. 

They gave me votes, to take me through. 

In the past year, of ninety-two. 



The second day. of ninety-three, 
I knew the time was here for me. 
1 left my house, short after nine, 
To make the train, I went in time. 



House of Bepresentatives. 



Ill 



I went in time. I was afraid, 
I'd miss the train, when I stayed late. 
The train on time, my fare 1 paid, 
And then went on, was not too late. 

I have a man. which I do pay, 
To run the mill, when I'm away. 
He takes good care, and does my work, 
The time 1 stay in Harrisburg. 

Six years from ray first term later, 
Went to the house of legislator. 
On my birthday, when seventy-two, 
I took the oath, like others do. 

My one term more, commenced to-day, 
Give me a right, two years to stay. 
And I will vote, what I think best. 
To give the laboring man a rest. 

Reduce the tax. as low as you can, 
High tax is not for the poor man. 
They have no home, but children too. 
Cold winter days, without a shoe. 



Desk 88, you find my seat. 

My boarding place is Elder street. 

House seven hundred and eighteen, 

Good meals, good bed, room nice and clean. 

Always in time and stay in hall. 
To cast my vote, when name is called. 
My name comes thirteen on the list. 
And if away, my vote is missed. 

Behave myself and now declare, 
Will go along to the World's Fair. 
And if I go, I then will see. 
What wondrous things in ninety-three. 

My thanks and best respects to all, 
Who cast their votes for me last Fall. 
They cast their vote with their free will. 
The first time with the Baker bill. 

I wish my friends would come and stay. 
And hear what our members say. 
And all my friends, now on this Hoor, 
I say good-bye, for evermore. 



272 



Officers of tJie House of Representatives. 




pHARLES E. VOORHEES, the Chief 
^ Clerk of the House of Representa- 
tives, was l)orn in the Tenth ward, 
Philadelphia, in the year 1849, and for 
thirty-two years resided in the same 
house. He received a common school 
education in the public schools, passing 
throligh the various grades and gradu- 
ating frond the Central High school. In 
1866 he entered the office of Richard 
R. Smethurst, one of the leading con- 
veyancers of the city, to learn that pro- 
fession. He quickly acquired the con- 
fidence of his preceptor and eventually 
succeeded him as secretary of the Will- 
iam Richardson estate, which was 
largely interested in coal properties in 
Schujikill county. He became active 
in politics at an early age, his associa- 
tions and his temperament naturally 
leading him in that direction. He was 
induced to abandon his profession and accept a political appointment in the water 
department of the city and was selected as clerk of the water committee of city 
council, a post of great responsibility and of some distinction. Upon the election 
of Samuel Hancock as city controller, Mr. Voorhees was appointed to a clerkship 
in that office, where he remained for a number of years and until Governor Patti- 
son was elected controller. In 1881 he began his career with the Legislature of 
Pennsylvania, being appointed messenger of the Senate. He held the same posi- 
tion during the session of 188!^. After a severe contest he was chosen Resident 
Clerk of the House in 1885 and filled that position with marked ability until 1892, 
when he was elected to the Chief Clerkship of that bod3\ Mr. Voorhees was for 
many years a member of the famous Good Will Engine Company, which was a 
school for politicians. He has been a conspicuous figure in the politics of Phila- 
delphia for many years, being a delegate to the city and state conventions of his 
party. He was one of the founders of the Union Republican Club, the leading 
Republican organization of Philadelphia. Mr. Voorhees is a man of superior at- 
tainments and marked ability. In any other state than Pennsylvania, where the 
machine political conditions are adverse to the recognition of brains and services, 
he would have been a man of mark and celebrity. In the presidential contests of 
1888 and 1892 he was on the staff of the national chairman. In the great contest 
of 1888 his work in New York largely contributed to the election of General Har- 
rison. For a number of years he has enjoyed the most confidential political rela- 
tions with Senator Quay, as well as with other leaders. Physicall}', he is one of 
the finest looking men in the state. He numbers his friends by the thousands and 
in all his career he has never been known to betray a trust or to injure a friend- 
shij). 



Officers of the House of Representatives. 



278 




ABRAHAM D. FETTEROLF, resi- 
dent clerk of the House, was born 
in Montgomery county, Pa., June 4, 
1850. He attended the public schools 
of his district, and subsequently coui- 
l)leted his education at Freeland Semi- 
nary (now Ursinus College), then under 
the principalsliip of his brother, A. H. 
FetteroU', now president of Girard Col- 
lege. At sixteen years of age he en- 
gaged in teaching public school in Berks 
and Montgomery counties and so con- 
tinued until he attained his majority. 
At this time he engaged in mercantile 
l)ursuits in Philadelphia. From 1871 
to 1875 he was engaged as a lumber in- 
spector, leaving that position to engage 
in the flour and feed business on Market 
street. This was succes.sful]y followed 
until 1884. From 1888 to 1890 he was 
a member of the iirm of The lioberts 
Machine Company. Collegeville, Pa. He has always been an uncompromisinir Re- 
publican, taking a great interest in local politics. In 1882 he was elected justice 
of the peace for the township of Upper Providence, and served until he resigned to 
accept a county office. As a justice he enjoj'ed the conlidence of the people and 
had quite an extensive business. During the time he held this position he acted 
in many trust capacities, settling a large number of estates of decendents and as- 
signments, in all of which he displayed .signal ability. In 1885 he was appointed 
transcribing clerk to the House. So faithful was he in this position that the fol- 
lowing session he was promoted to Speaker's clerk, and .so served through the 
session of 1887. The session of 1889 he was again promoted to Journal clerk. As 
faithful eflbrt is appreciated, Mr. Fetterolf had little difficulty at the present ses- 
sion to secure the position of resident clerk, a position of great responsibility. 

Mr Fetterolf was Senatorial delegate to the State Republican convention in 
1886. In 1890 he was nominated for register of wills of Montgomery county, but 
failed of election by seveuty-.seven majority in a year when the Democrats elected 
their county ticket by majorities considerably greater than that which defeated 
Mr. Fetterolf. He was a])pointed deputy clerk of the courts of Montgomery 
county in 1891, which position he filled with credit to him.self and very acceptable 
to the public. In this capacity he was employed until he resigned to accept his 
present office. 

In 1892 Mr. Fetterolf was unanimously elected chairman of the Republican 
County Committee of Montgomery county, and conducted the cami)aign of that 
year so successfully as to elect the entire ticket with a single excejition. In tills 
position he developed great executive al)ility and demonstrated that Montgomery 
county needed thorough organization in order to be carried by either ])arty. He 
was re-elected to this position for the present year. 

Mr. Fetterolf has been secretary of the Perkiomen Valley Mutual Fire Insurance 
Company since July, 1889, one of the largest and best mutual insurance com])an- 
ies of the country, and has also been secretary of the Perkiomen Valley Building 
and I>oau Association, and was for several years a director in the National Bank 
of Schwenksville. 

18 



274 



Officers of the House of Representatives. 




J ERE B. REX, of Huntingdon, Pa., 
was born in Clearfield county, Sep" 
tember 30, 1859. Hi.s parents removed 
in the following year to Huntingdon 
county. He was educated in the public 
schools at Mapleton in that county, 
Williamsport, Pa., and Amherst, Mass. 
He adopted the profession of the law, 
and was admitted to practice in the 
courts of Huntingdon county in 1885. 
He has been connected with the Repub- 
lican State Committee since 1889. He 
was first aijpointed Reading Clerk of 
the House of Representatives in the 
session of 1891, and was re-appointed 
to the same position at the organization 
of the present House. 




Officers of the Home of Representatives. 



275 




PREDERICK WILHELM FLEITZ, 
*- of Scran ton, journal clerk of the 
House of Representatives, was born in 
Tioga county, March 1, 1866. He ob- 
tained his education in the public 
schools and at the Mansfield State Nor- 
mal School. He taught his first term 
of school in 1S80. Four years aftervvai'd 
he went to California, and was for some 
time principal of the Yreka High school, 
which position he filled with much 
credit and ability. Subsequently he 
was engaged in gold mining and the 
real estate business. He also engaged 
in silver mining in Chihanahua, Mexico, 
for some time. 

Mr. Fleitz returned east a number of 
years ago and was registered as a law 
student in 1887 in the office of Hon. H. 
B. Packer, of Wellsboro. Pa. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1889, and has 



since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession. He is a wise coun- 
sellor and able and forcible pleader, and enjoys a lucrative practice. During the 
ses.sion of 1891 Mr. Fleitz was transcribing clerk of the House of Representatives. 
So well did he do his work that at the organization of the present session he was 
made journal clerk, a position he is well qualified to fill. He is at all times cour- 
teous and obliging. This has made him many friends who stand ready at any 
time to do him a favor. In 1891 he removed to Scranton, Lackawanna county, 
where he now resides. He takes an active part in politics and is one of the Re- 
publican leaders in his county. 




276 



Officers of the House of Representatives. 




HENRY HUHN, Speaker Thompsou's 
clerk, was born iu Philadelphia 
July 3, 1832. He was educated in pri- 
vate and public schools of that city and 
is a graduate and alumnus of the Central 
High school. He learned the trade of 
printing in the establishment of Mears 
i^ Dusenberry, in Philadelphia, but 
health failing, by the advice of his 
physician, he removed to Schuylkill 
county, where he became chief clerk 
and paymaster of the Little Schuylkill 
Navigation Kailroad and Coal Company. 
He studied law with the Hon. James 
liyan, who was afterwards elected pres- 
ident judge of the courts of Schuylkill 
county, and built the Edgeworth 
Powder works iu that county, now 
owned by the Dupouts, and engaged in 
coal l)usiness for a number of years. 
He was nominated and elected from 
Schuylkill county to the House of Representatives of Penn.sylvania in October, 
1860, and was a member of that body at the breaking out of the war in 1861-()2, 
and was active in all measures for placing Pennsylvania on a war footing. He 
removed to Philadelphia in 1867, and was elected to represent the Fifteenth ward 
in the common council of Philadelphia in 1868 for two years and was re-elected 
by the same constituency for the succeeding term of 1871 and 1872. He was 
elected president of common council in 1871 and unanimously re-elected president 
for 1872. Upon the adoption of the new constitution, he was elected by the .same 
constituency to the House of Representatives for 1875-76, and was re-elected by 
a largely increased majority to serve in 1877-78. He served as Speaker 2wo. tern. 
of the House, chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, and a member of the 
Committee on Appropriations and other leading committees. Subsequently he 
occupied the position of reading clerk. Speaker's clerk, and chief clerk of the 
House and is now recognized as one of the leading parliamentarians in the state. 
His decisions on questions ot parliamentary procedure are .sought for by pre- 
siding oflflcers all over the country. While president of common council he served 
as a director of Girard College, member of the Board of Trusts, Commissioner of 
Fairmount Park, and Public Buildings and e.\-ofiicio member of all of the com- 
mittees of common councils, in all of which he commanded the resjiect and esteem 
of his fellow-citizens of all shades of political opinion. 




-^^ 



Officers of the House of Represeniaiives. 



Til 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BECK, 
Chaplain of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, was born in Jetferson,AVayne 
eonnty, Ohio, May 31, 1838. His an- 
cestors on his father's side emigrated to 
Ohio from Dauphin county, early in the 
present century. He was brought up 
on his father's farm and attended the 
common schools and Dickinson College, 
at Carlisle, Pa., whence he graduated 
in 1868. The bent of his mind being 
U)v the ministry he studied theology 
and preached at Newville, Cumberland 
county, one year. Thence he was called 
to the church, corner of Germantown 
avenue and Berks street, Philadelphia, 
of which he was the pastor three years. 
He was next called to the church at 
Shippensburg, where he remained two 
years as its pastor. Thence to Harris- 
burg in the spring of 1816, where he 
preached regularly at the Fourth Street Bethel two years. One year thereafter he 
was an itinerant evangelist in this state, preaching and holding religious services 
in various parts of it. He enjoys the reputation of being a logical and effective 
preacher of the gospel, pure and simple, and has a very large number of personal 
admirers. He has been an active city missionary in Harrisburg for about six 
years and has gone from house to house twice and distributed Bibles and religious 
literature. He has aLso charge of the Benevolent Society's business and is looking 
after the poor, the sick and the aged and infirm. 




INDEX. 



THE STATE DEPARTMENTS. 



Page. 

Brown, Isaac B xliv 

Brown, J. Woods Iv 

Egle, William H., xxix 

Farquliar, A. B., xxxv 

Grier, Wm. Haj'es xxxi 

Harrity, Wm. F xi 

Hensel, W. U., xiii 

Houck, Henry 11 

Kelly, George C, liii 

Krumbhaar, Charles H., xxvii 

Greenland. W. W 

Gregg D. McM 

Luper, Georg-e B., 



xxm 

XV 
XXV 



Page. 

Ivil 

xvii 

xxxvii 



Meyers Edwin K 

Morrison, John W 

O'Neill, Col. C. T 

Pattison, Kobt. B ... ix 

Schaeffcr, Nathan C, xii 

Shober. Frederick xlv 

Stewart, Thomas J xix 

Stranahan, James A xliii 

Tate, Humphrey D xxxix 

Taylor, G. Morrison, xlvii 

Tilden, A. L xli 

VVatchorn, Robert, xxxiii 



LEGISLATIVE NEWSPAPER CORRESPONDENTS. 



Bancroft. L. D., . . 
Bolger, Peter, 
Buckingham, W. K. 
Connor, W. A., . . 
Crum, A. K., . . 
Dohoney, John P., 
Hall, Henry, .... 



Ix 
Ix 
Ix 
Ix 
Ix 
Ixi 
Ix 



Hoban, Peter J., . . 
Hudson, Sam., 
Jones, Thomas M., 
Rodearmel, Wm., . 
Stackpole. E. J., . . 
Stenger, W. R , . . 
Wanbaugh, Geo. M. 



THE SENATE. 



Baker, Jesse Matlack, 13 

Bannon, Anthony F., 28 

Becker. Elwood, 5 

Brant, Matthias 43 

Brewer, W. U., 36 

Brown, Gerard C., . • . 31 

Brown, John H., 42 

Crawford. William R 53 

Critchfleld, Norman B., 39 

Grouse, Jacob, 11 

DunJap. William B., 50 

Flinn, William, 48 

Fruit, James S., 51 

Gobin, John P. S 20 

Grady, John C 10 

Green, Henry D 14 

Hackenburg, William H 30 

Hall, Harry Alvan 41 

Henninger, Milton C, 19 

Herring, Grant 37 

Keefer, Luther B., 33 

Kline. Clarence W., 24 

Landis, John H., Iti 

Laubach, Edward H 31 

Lemon. John A., 38 

Lloyd. William Penn, 35 

Logan. S. J 58 

Lyon, Walter, 46 

McCarrell, S. J. M 18 

McCreary, David B 53 

McDonald, Michael E 23 



Markley, Arthur D., . . 
Meek, P. Gray, • • . 
Mitchell, Benjamin B., . 
Mitchell, James G.. . . 
Meredith, William B.. . 
Monaghan, Bernard J ., 
Neeb, John N., . . 

Osbourn, Francis A., . . 

Penrose, Boies, 

Porter, Chas. A., • 
Rapsher, William M., . 

Roone.v, James 

Ross, George, 

Smith, Geo. Handj', . . 

Smith, Winfield S 

Snyder, William P., . . 
Steel, Samuel S., 
Thomas, Chas. Wesley, 
Upperman, John, . . . 
AVatres, L. A., . . . 

Woods, Joseph M., . . . 



Officers of the Senate. 



Brown, James L., 
Carson, James M., 
Dunbar. W. H., . . 
Miller, Herman P., 
Myers, John H., . 
Rodgers, W. C, 
Smiley, Edward W. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 



Abrams, Elias, . . . , 
Anderson, David M.. . 
Andrews, William H., . 

Bare, John S 

Baker, Charles 1 

Beck, William K., . . . 
Bernhard, Milton N., . . 
Beyerlein. Adolph, . . . 

Biery. William F 

Bliss, Ward R., . , 

Bolles, Courtlandt K., . 
Bortner. Henry M., . , 

Boyer, Henry K 

Branson, David H., . , 
Brodhead. William H., , 
Brooks. Charles H., . , 
Broughal. L. J., . , 

Buck waiter, Joseph W. 
Burdick, William E., . . 

Burke, Michael 

Burritt. Philo 

Buttcrfleld. Henry, . 
Cassin, William L., . . 



84 
2.58 
161 
185 
229 
193 
205 

66 
146 
169 

74 
270 

72 
1.50 
308 
177 
331 
236 
217 
194 
349 
173 

91 



Cessna, John 

Clarencj', James, . ■ . 
Cochrane, Samuel B., 
Coffin, Harry, . . 

Collamer, Daniel M., . 
Comly, Franklin A., . 
Cooper, Samuel S., . . 
Cotton, Emmett E., . 
Coyle, .John. I., . . 

Crawford. Albert, . ■ 

Criste, Peter J 

Crothcrs, Samuel, . . 
Cruise. John. . . 

Culbertson. William M. 
Curtis, William N., . 
Cyphert. William, . . 

Dale. William 

Dambly. B. Witman, 

Dence, John X 

DeVelin, John B.. . . 
Douthett, David B., . 

Dubs, Daniel S 

Dunlap, H. Thomas, . 



Ix 
Ixi 
1x1 
Ixi 
Ixi 
Ixi 
Ixi 



57 
56 
61 
58 
60 
59 
55 



136 

87 
123 
78 
93 
224 
344 
116 
339 

234 

99 

71 

114 

360 

155 

•M-Z 

226 

240 

83 

143 

2(!7 

79 



280 



Index. 



Eby, Milton . . J96 

Eckels, George M J64 

Eaiils, John A. J 86 

Fabian, James L., 140 

Farr,JohnK 190 

Fishel. Harry W 269 

Flannery, John i' 213 

Fletcher, Charles H 100 

Focht, Benjamin K 353 

Follweiler, Warren T., 241 

Foltz, M. A.. 181 

Forrest, George, 195 

Fow, John H 85 

Fretz, Oliver H 138 

Fritz, Andrew L 158 

Garvin, Tnomas H., 170 

Geringer. John K., 230 

Goentner, John B 235 

Goodhart. John B 138 

Gorman, John K., 155 

Grigsby, Henry W 202 

Haight, John J 179 

Harrison, John T., 93 

Hartley, Noah M 183 

Harvey, John (J . 209 

Heidelbaugh, Milton, 197 

Hershey. Martin L 166 

Herzoir. Jacob B., 132 

Hess, Henry N., 153 

Hewit, Benjamin L., 133 

Heyburn. George E , J71 

Hockley, Irvin K 145 

Hollenbach, George C 227 

Hosack. William, 187 

Hunter. A. B., 264 

James, Henry F 254 

JetTrey, William K 211 

Kane, Michael P 176 

Kearns, John, 112 

Kennedy, George W 343 

Keppel, Samuel B 130 

Keyser. William H 89 

Kidd, William M 80 

King, Charles S., . 156 

Kinner, Floyd L., 137 

Kipp. John A., . 337 

Kub»ch,John 261 

Kunkel, George 165 

Latrerty, Samuel M 113 

Laucks, John K 129 

Laudenslager, John A 167 

Lawrence. George V 357 

Leeds, William K 75 

Lemon, Michael B 110 

Lennon. Michael J 206 

Littley, William .... 94 

Losch, Samuel A. 343 

Luhr. Charles 173 

Lull, Marshall J 248 

Lytle, P. M.. 184 

McClintic, Joseiih H., 333 

McCormick, John T 147 

McDonald, William J 109 

McGill, W. R., 163 

McMasters, Robert C, 160 

Mackrell, Archibald Ill 

Mansfield, Ira F 134 

Marshall, William T 108 

Martin. Algernon L 301 

Mast, Frank, 133 

Mates, James B 141 

Mattox, JohnL 255 

Merrick, Walter T 252 

Metzger, Owen G 238 

Millard, Humphrey J., 350 

Miller, Ephraim D 247 

Miller, William H 219 

Moore, Daniel F., 153 

Moore, Frank N., 136 

Moore, Robert J 69 

Moyles, Thomas M 213 

Muehlbronner, Charles A., 106 

Murphy. Samuel D., 363 

Nesbit, JohnAV .■ 117 

Newman, Albert S., 135 



Page. 

Nickell, William, 103 

Niles, Jerome B 351 

North, Herman H., 218 

Okell, Frank T., 192 

Page, Samuel S., I68 

Patterson, Thomas McC, 259 

Peltz, Samuel. 95 

Pennewill, Walton, 81 

Piatt, Frank H., 266 

Porter. W. Newton, 265 

Pyle, Philip A 198 

Quiggle, James C, 157 

Quinuan, John P., 191 

Ransley, Harry C, 67 

Raven, Alfred H 88 

Raymond, J. Koss, 175 

Reber. F. Leonard, 131 

Reed, William F 220 

Reese, Daniel J 210 

Reinoehl, John K., 304 

Renn, Isaiah J., 335 

Richardson, Alplionse, 68 

Richey, Joseph T 119 

Richmond, Josejih G 97 

Kiebel. John H., 90 

Ritor, Frank M 76 

Ritter. Walter B 214 

Robb, Isaac H., 331 

Robinson, James P 268 

Rui)p. Joseph C 207 

Schick. Jacob D., 70 

Schofield, James 148 

Schwarz, Richard F., 223 

Scott, John M 73 

Seanor, N., 186 

Seely, Charles B., 215 

Seyt'ert, Augustus G 199 

Shepherd. Carlile 139 

Skinner, George W., 182 

Smith, Robert, 98 

Smith, W. C, 137 

Smith, William O., 188 

Stayer, Andrew S 134 

Stewart, Samuel E., 121 

Stewart, William F. 83 

Stineman, Jacob C 143 

Strickler, Abraham H 180 

Taggart, Austin L., 238 

Talbot. D. Smith 151 

Taxis, John O., 103 

Tewksbury, Edward M., 159 

Thomas, James J 144 

Thompson. Caleb C 256 

Thornton. J. Russell, 178 

Tool, Edward W., 245 

Vare. George A., 65 

Walker, Thomas, 203 

Wallace, Samuel 130 

Walton, Henry F 101 

Weaver, David E., 115 

Weisshaar, George W., 96 

Weller, JohnC, 246 

Wertheimer, Emanuel, 107 

West. Joseph G., . 149 

Weyand, Jacob 125 

Wheeler, Charles M 174 

Wherry, Samuel McC 163 

Wilson, Johns 200 

Wilson, H. Latimer 189 

Wilson, Matthew McL., 118 

Wilson, Nicholas G., 105 

Wood, George G 216 

Woodring, William H 333 

Ziegler, William T 104 

Zulick, C. B 233 

Officeks of the House of Repre- 
sentatives. 

Beck. Rev. Benjamin F 377 

Fetterolf, Abraham D 273 

Fleitz, Frederick W 275 

Huhn, Henry, 376 

Rex, Jere B 274 

Voorhees, Charles E 273 



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